Introduction

Luwalhati ng Maynila

Manila Boystown (MBT), the organization from which Luwalhati ng Maynila Home for the Aged (LMHA) stemmed, aims to provide young boys with their basic needs such as food, clothing, guidance, education, and training. Through this, they aim to mold the children into better Christians and citizens ready to carry out a more fulfilling, meaningful, and satisfying way of life out of the complex in the shortest time possible. In line with the expansion of MBT, the organization now aims to provide these services to young girls and senior citizens as well.

Vision-Mission

LMHA envisions empowered elderly people, living normal, happy, and productive lives in the course of their twilight years. In order to achieve this, the organization set out a mission to provide the elderly with shelter, utmost care, and rehabilitation through a package of residential care programs and services. They aim to shelter and tend to the abandoned elderly who no longer receive family support; other cases prompt them to find means to reunite the said elderly with their relatives who might be better providers of their physical, mental, and emotional needs. Moreover, they aim to organize rehabilitation programs to allow for the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual development of the residents. Finally, they aim to establish better communication systems to gain support from governmental and non-governmental organizations.[2]

History

MBT was originally established in Parang, Marikina in 1947 to serve as a residential care center for underprivileged boys, which eventually expanded to cater to young girls and senior citizens as well. The home for the aged itself, Luwalhati ng Maynila, was established four years later by the late Manila Mayor Valeriano Fugoso on July 25, 1967 due to the increasing number of elderly with nowhere to go in the city. [1]

Profile

LMHA is located in Manila Boystown Complex, situated along Narra Boulevard, Parang, Marikina City, Metro Manila. The name of their Facebook page is “Luwalhati Ng Maynila Home for the Aged - Marikina City, Philippines - Local Business,” while the name of their Webbline page is “Luwalhati Ng Maynila.” They may also be contacted through their landline number: (+632) 8697 7701.

Objectives

Our Advocacy

Our group's advocacy in conducting this project is to highlight the importance of providing support for vulnerable communities, especially during this pandemic.

Results of Needs Analysis and RRL

Below is a list of the items requested by the community:

toiletries (adult diapers, bath soap, and shampoo)
cleaning materials (bar and powder detergent, bleach, gloves, and stick broom)
clothes (shirts, shorts, duster, and underwear)
medicines (vitamins, anti-allergy, and anti-scabies)
food (biscuits, 3-in-1 coffee, and milk)

Community Concerns

The elderly and senior citizens are vulnerable and at high risk of contracting COVID-19 due to their weakened immune systems, so LMHA has not allowed outreach activities that involve interaction between the donors and their residents.
The pandemic also lessened the amount of donations the community used to receive.

Objectives

To draw attention and raise awareness regarding the present circumstances of similarly vulnerable communities which will hopefully improve the flow of donations, funding, and similar programs they involve with.
To have supported and assisted the community by providing for the daily needs of its residents.

Implementation

Results

Evaluation

The group received a favorable overall rating of 3.0 out of 4 from Ms. Evangeline Soriano, the point-person of the community. However, there are no comments/narrative feedback in her evaluation form.

Contribution to Community Development

Through this community project, we were able to witness first-hand the gravity of the social issues we had aimed to address. Consequently, as we close this project, we intend to stress the importance of and call for stable support for homes for the aged and/or retirement homes. We also aim to keep these in mind as we support future projects born out of the same advocacy.

Success Indicators

Objective 1

To draw attention and raise awareness regarding the present circumstances of similarly vulnerable communities which will hopefully improve the flow of donations, fundings, and similar programs they receive.

Substantial number of interactions made through the posting of publicity materials
Raising of enough funds to purchase the needs of the community

Objective 2

To have supported and assisted the community by providing for the daily needs of its residents

Purchasing and delivery of goods requested by the community, as well as additional goods that fit the new budget
Positive response from the community’s point person

Problems Encountered

Product selection via online platforms (i.e. Shopee) - the group had to find a way to select affordable products without compromising the quality of the goods (only through pictures and buyer ratings)
Shipping fee - the quantity of donations had to be lessened as the initial budgeting did not account for the shipping fee of items that were ordered in bulk (e.g. bar detergent, bath soap, diapers)

Financial Report

After our donation drive, we were able to collect a total of PHP 15,320 from our generous donors, surpassing our original goal of PHP 9,000 which allowed us to purchase additional necessities such as vitamins, supplements, and adult diapers. For full transparency with the management of our collected funds, our financial report may be viewed by clicking the button below.

Financial Report

Sustainability

Short-Term Benefits

We were able to assist and support the community by providing for the daily needs of the residents, allowing them to live more comfortably while the donations lasted.

Long-Term Benefits

More awareness on the situation of communities that need assistance during the pandemic was raised, increasing the probability of future donations. This may also lead to the establishment of programs and improvement of both national and local government services for such communities.

Continuity Plans

The administration of the community is open to working again with PSHS-MC in the future, thus allowing future batches to continue donating to the community if they choose to take up our project.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Social Issues

There is not enough government support available for victims of neglect (e.g. orphans and abandoned elders) in our country. We were able to momentarily fill this gap through our project, but it is a must to continue bringing this issue to light in order to bring long-term change.

Watch our Reflection Video here:

Mano Po.mp4

For Future Projects

Future projects of this kind may also touch on other factors that contribute to the poor living conditions of orphans and abandoned elders in the Philippines. This may include topics such as sex education, family planning, and parents’ dependency on children.

Projects for Future Implementations

Should the community’s regulations allow it, more interaction with the community through various group activities are recommended.
It is also recommended to regularly update the community's contact person regarding the state of the project.
Other donations, based on the list of items stated by the community, may also be added.

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