RVA's Chinese listeners send aid to poor Filipino families affected by lockdown

Listeners of the Mandarin Service of Radio Veritas Asia have sent donations for poor families affected by the new coronavirus pandemic in the Philippines.

Families in poor communities of Payatas and Fairview districts in Quezon City received food packs that include rice from Chinese people who sent their donation through RVA's Mandarin Service.

As of the first week of April, the radio station received about $85,000 from its Chinese listeners.

Father Joseph Leo, coordinator of the RVA's Mandarin Service, said part of the donation was spent on the purchase of 45,000 kilograms of rice.

The remaining fund was donated to different Catholic charity organizations that are working in poor communities in the parish of Payatas, the Kalinga Center of the Society of the Divine Word, Claret Solidarity Group, and the Diocese of Novaliches.

The donations were turned over to the recipients at the Social Hall of Radio Veritas Asia in Quezon City on April 7.

Father Joseph Leo said the donations came from the generosity of listeners of RVA Mandarin Service to help the poor in the Philippines.

Father John Mi, former coordinator of the Mandarin Service, said the Charity Desk of the service was established in 2015 as an outreach program to help poor families in urban poor communities around the RVA station in Quezon City.

In the past, the Charity Desk raised funds for a feeding program for poor children and for aid during calamities.

The Payatas Parish and Kalinga Center each received 700,000 pesos while the Claret Solidarity Group received 350,000 pesos. 

The fund will be used for their work in poor communities in their respective areas. 

Father Victor Sadaya, CMF, general manager of RVA, lauded the courage of all those who work to serve the poor.

Most of the money received by the Mandarin Service came from the Wenzhou Diocese in China and from listeners in Guangzhou, Tianjin, Fuzhou, and other parts of mainland China.