Caritas Month Exhibit 2018

Katelyn Edelwina Y. Legaspi,  Ф2018, Class 2022

On February 5, 2018, the Phi Lambda Delta Sorority launched its exhibit to mark the beginning of this year’s Caritas month. The sorority holds service to be one of its core values, and the various events and projects during Caritas month are meant to be an application of Phi Lambda Delta’s understanding of service. The sorority believes that service projects should be sustainable, and be conducted in such a way that the community can learn to empower themselves through education, rather than being given empowerment from an external source.

The first project of the month is Lifeline, a blood drive that encourages people to donate blood for the PGH blood bank. There are two collections, one in PGH, and one in UP Diliman. Next is the breast milk drive held in partnership with the Canossa Health Center in Cavite on February 16 entitled “Milk Matters”. A short public health lecture on the benefits of exclusive breast milk feeding for the first 6 months of life is followed by breast milk donation by willing mothers for the babies in the Neonate Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). This is followed by EmpoweRED, an HIV-AIDS awareness campaign, where future medical professionals and health workers are invited to listen to a series of talks by doctors, people living with HIV-AIDS, and speakers from the organization Love Yourself Philippines.

Then there is the Children’s Fair, a day of fun, games, and sweet treats for children with special needs. Various booths featuring different forms of entertainment like face painting, carnival games, and tasty sweets were put up in the Children’s Playground in Rizal Park Luneta for them to enjoy. The Phi Lambda Delta sorority put up a story telling booth with members acting out an abbreviated version of “John’s Brave Adventure: Leprosy You Can’t Defeat Me!” in order to spread awareness and minimize stigma against those living with the condition. Caritas Month comes to a close with the Gynecological mission, which aims to provide knowledge and access to simple gynecological tests for women in areas where these services are difficult to access.

The exhibit is meant to be a preview of these events, as well as a show of the members’ creative skill. The exhibit’s attractive theme of a mother and child surrounded by flowers invited many to come look at the exhibit and read about the sorority’s many upcoming wonderful projects, and to perhaps join in us in our quest for service.