CEBU CITY—The buwad (dried fish) has long been a staple Cebuano food and a source of livelihood for several local entrepreneurs like Rafaela Ducay, who works at the Taboan Public Market in Cebu City.
However in recent weeks, the buwad has become a symbolic tool of empowerment for Ducay, a member of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.-Microfinance (RAFI MFI). This product has become a staple item in RAFI’s relief packs.
With the current coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, RAFI, the Cebu-based Aboitiz family foundation, has tapped its RAFI MFI Nanays to help in its Covid-19 response effort in the Visayas.
The RAFI MFI Nanays that were tapped have already earned a combined P8.9 million from selling vegetables, dried fish, and monggo for RAFI’s relief packages (nine Nanays) and for sewing hazardous material suits (two Nanays) and sleeping mats (banigs) (one Nanay).
RMF Nanays in the dried fish and vegetable distribution supply businesses provided the contents of some of the 53,000 food relief packages distributed by RAFI to local government units (LGUs) in Cebu and Bohol.
For her part, Ducay was also able to help fellow mothers by employing 20 workers to pack the buwad.
“RAFI really helped us a lot by ordering goods from us. I am thankful because if it wasn’t for RAFI, we will be left with nothing in this time of crisis. The situation came unexpectedly, but we just need to hang on. What is important is that we are healthy and we are also able to help others,” Ducay said in the vernacular.
Approximately 4,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) have also been sewn by RMF Nanay seamstresses and already distributed to hospitals and other organizations.
“In this time of crisis, the Aboitiz Group all the more believes in empowering affected Filipinos by offering a sustainable economic lifeline. We hope that our efforts will make a difference in helping families get back up on their feet and continue thriving in these challenging times,” said Sabin M. Aboitiz, Aboitiz Group president and chief executive officer.
Banigs distributed to street dwellers and over 442 stranded passengers (mostly returning Negros Oriental residents) in the port town of Samboan, Cebu, were also produced by RAFI MFI Nanays.
“Thank you RAFI for supporting the stranded passengers of Negros Oriental and Occidental who were stranded in Samboan. The municipality is forever grateful for your generosity in providing relief goods, sanitation kits, bread, banig and medicine, you are truly a hero of philanthropy in these trying times. Thank you so much for being our champion of CSR [corporate social responsibility],” shares Vicky Calderon from the Samboan, Cebu Local government unit (LGU).
A number of LGUs remain under general community quarantine after May 15. Cebu City remains under enhanced community quarantine while Metro Manila is now under modified ECQ.
In addition to the P195 million allotted for Covid-19-related relief operations, a total of P40.5 million was allotted for interventions focused on Covid-19 prevention, screening and treatment, bringing RAFI’s total response efforts to over P235.5 million to date.
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