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The National University of Singapore (NUS) MANILA Chapter implemented its much-delayed Day of Service for 2021 on 5 March 2022. Manila is now at the least restrictive Alert Level System Level 1 since the onset of the global pandemic. While maintaining the usual health and safety protocols, there are no more restrictions in terms of indoor and outdoor capacities including intrazonal and interzonal travel of people.
The Missionaries of Charity (Philippine Branch Office) has been selected as the primary beneficiary of the chapter. Administered by a dozen nuns, the beneficiary caters to mostly sick and/or physically or mentally challenged children and elderly. Most children are abandoned—with some of them left there by their parents as they are physically and financially unable to take care of their sick children. Headquartered along Tayuman Street of Tondo District in the City of Manila, the area is known for being the slum capital of Manila given its high poverty incidence.
The Project Chairperson / DOS Champion is Kimly Anaissa Ang Sandoval (Business, 2018), who also concurrently serves as the Chapter Secretary for term 2021-2023. The chapter surveyed the beneficiary by asking them directly for their long-term needs. Their overwhelming reply was for the supply of Industrial Orbit Ceiling Electric Fans for all their 18 Homes, two of which are in Manila and the rest in major cities in the Philippines. These fans are quite expensive for them but very much needed for their daily routines, especially in the summer.
A major supplier of the ceiling fans, Europrince Philippines Corporation, a personal network of our Project Chairperson, gave a quote of PhP1,250 per ceiling fan which is cheaper by almost 30% than those found in online shopping platforms or stores. The price included free delivery and 1 year warranty nationwide. The chapter decided to proceed with this supplier.
There was a Call for Donation through the chapter’s official Facebook Group Page on the evening of 1 March 2022. In the span of forty-eight (48) hours or two (2) days, the chapter was able to collect a total of PhP41,250, which is enough for us to order thirty-three (33) ceiling fans! We decided to proceed soonest with the turnover on March 5 (Saturday), 10:00 AM.
A total of eleven (11) NUS alumni donated a total amount of PhP41,250 (SGD1,075.62 at SGD1 = PhP38.35) for the project. Four (4) NUS alumni also personally attended the NUS Day of Service event on 5 March 2022 at 9:30am. The turned over fans will be distributed by the sisters to their other branches in the provinces.
