25¢ Church project pays big for differently-abled persons

Gaudencio Rosales . FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Pondo ng Pinoy, the poverty alleviation program initiated by  former Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, will mark its 10th year this week by showcasing a project that provides livelihood to persons with disabilities and promotes the environment.

The eco-uling project, one of the many projects sponsored by Pondo ng Pinoy, is run by around 20 persons with disabilities and their young Muslim friends in Barangay Calsada, Taguig City.

They produce charcoal briquettes from a combination of water lilies, coconut husks and shells. They operate the project, from the gathering of the materials and technical production to marketing.

The project will be the highlight of this year’s Pondo ng Pinoy anniversary celebration, which will begin with a Mass on June 12 officiated by current Archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

Some 1,000 delegates from 21 Pondo ng Pinoy member-dioceses are expected to attend the celebration, which will include a demonstration on charcoal briquette production.

According to the Archdiocese of Manila, the eco-uling project has enabled disabled persons to earn a living.

Also, the project is able to utilize the water lily, which is a nuisance because its proliferation in rivers often leads to clogging and flooding during the rainy season.

Pondo ng Pinoy initially granted P300,000  for the project and gave an additional P280,000 to expand operations.

Pondo ng Pinoy, which encourages Catholics to drop 25 centavos a day in donation boxes in churches and schools, is proof of the people’s love and compassion for each other, Rosales said.

“Cardinal Rosales saw in Pondo ng Pinoy a way by which every person, ‘no matter how poor, no matter how humble, has the freedom to give, to help and live fully.’  Pondo ng Pinoy aims to cultivate the culture of giving and helping another,” the Archdiocese of Manila said in a statement.

Pondo ng Pinoy is guided by its maxim: “Anumang maliit, basta malimit ay patungong langit (A good act, no matter how small, if done often will eventually lead to heaven).”

“Little acts of kindness, if sustained by similar constant little acts, can grow into great expressions of daily charity and compassion,” Rosales said.

To date, Pondo ng Pinoy has sponsored more than 300 projects on health, nutrition, livelihood and development, alternative learning and housing amounting to more than P200 million.

The Pondo ng Pinoy movement operates through the Pondo ng Pinoy Community Foundation. Aside from the Archdiocese of Manila, 18 dioceses, two apostolic vicariates and the Military Ordinariate are part of the program.

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