Bayanihan Mission supports Sitio Marna as its sitio model in Cebu

Bayanihan Mission Cebu volunteers repacking food items for their Marna Project. | Contributed Photo.

CEBU CITY, Philippines— Bayanihan Mission (BM) has been extending its help to all those in need during this quarantine period from all over the country.

Read: Volunteer group helping less fortunate amid Covid-19 crisis

Here in Cebu, they have been active in giving assistance to the elderly, those who are pregnant or to those who need more assistance than others. Just weeks ago, they have slightly focused their mission in helping one area in Barangay Subangdaku in Mandaue City— Sitio Marna and launched their project, “Marna Project.”

Bayanihan Mission has this “Adopt A Small Community Program,” which aims to realistically implement quarantine in the most basic level of a contained neighborhood in the social structure in the Philippines. This is to save more in the most efficient way possible and for their sitio here in Cebu they picked, Sitio Marna.

“Sitio Marna is a slum in Mandaue with 550 households. BM and Sitio Marna entered a social contract wherein 423 households signed a pledge to a Home Quarantine Program,” said Eldawn Catalan, one of the members of BM Cebu Chapter.

By signing the pledge, each household will be receiving food packs, hygiene kits, and their specific needs per week.

“Food and hygiene packs will be delivered to their homes granted that everyone stays at home.  Landlords were trained to educate and implement the said quarantine in the community,” she said.

For only P19 per person, this project is slowly helping Sitio Marna learn to cooperate and just stay at home to help stop the spread of the contamination of the virus.

Bayanihan Mission during their distribution of relief goods last week. | Contributed photo.

BM chose Sitio Marna to be their first model sitio her in Cebu since it is a secluded sitio from the rest by a river and can only be accessed by a wobbling footbridge.

And just like other urban poor areas in the Philippines and in Cebu, most of those in Sitio Marna are unregistered residents who are not qualified for the social amelioration program of the government.

“We’re now on our 3rd week and aims to support another sitio in the upcoming weeks.  For only Php19 you can support one person at a time,” she said.

If you want to extend your help to those in Sitio Marna you can contact BM through their official Facebook page, Bayanihan Mission, or email them at [email protected]. /dbs