Home for elderly breaks ground
Following the signing of agreement last Sept. 5, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) and the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) broke ground last Nov. 21, 2011, a 4,500-sq.m. lot where a home for the elders and persons with disabilities will be built.
The land was bought through a fund donated by the late Jose Miguel Aboitiz.
Dubbed “The House of the Lord,” this shelter in Poblacion, Talisay City, is part of MOP’s expanding services for the homeless and abandoned elders.
It will be built across the MOP Monastery and will house 100 elders and persons with disabilities in Cebu.
The House of the Lord will be constructed early this year and is targeted to be finished in December 2012.
The project will fulfill MOP’s mission in Cebu to take care of the homeless, handicapped and the poor.
Currently, there are 30 indigent elderlies in a makeshift center in barangay Sawang Calero, Cebu City.
With initial grant assistance from RAFI in 2005, the Missionaries of the Poor have been operating the Little Lamb Center, a permanent residential facility in Cebu that caters exclusively to children who are physically and mentally challenged.
The Little Lamb Center in Sawang Calero houses and cares 40 special children with cerebral palsy, autism and Down’s syndrome, among others.
“Years ago, MOP visited our office and told us about their mission. I am grateful to know that we share the same dream. The MOP opened before us the greater chance of sharing what we have to the less fortunate. I am thankful for these people whose heart belongs to the poor. They showed the way to possible things, which otherwise we will only be imagining,” said RAFI president Roberto E. Aboitiz.
Fr. Richard Ho Lung, founder and superior general of MOP, also expressed his gratitude and lauded MOP’s accomplishments in Cebu.
Established in Kingston, Jamaica, the MOP is an international religious order of brothers dedicated to the Joyful Service with Christ on the Cross to serve the poorest of the poor.
MOP is one of the beneficiaries under RAFI’s Grants program, which is one of the capabilities in RAFI’s comprehensive approach to elevating lives and communities.
For more information about Grants, please contact 418-7234 loc. 205 and look for Jan Montilla.
