(Photo courtesy of Arnold Janssen Kalinga Foundation)
MANILA – A shelter run by the Catholic Church has reopened to help homeless persons after being closed for two years due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Rev. Fr. Flavie Villanueva, founder of the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center (AJKC) located in Tayuman, Manila, said the center reopened on July 16, in commemoration of its seventh anniversary.
He said the mission of the AJKC is to provide the homeless with free food and the opportunity to bathe and cleanse their bodies.
However, the center was locked down by police and village officials “on the first day of the Covid-19 lockdown,” he said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas on Tuesday.
The Catholic priest added that the purpose of reopening the facility is to spread the message that charity and sharing grace with others have no time or boundaries like a pandemic.
At the same time, he said the AJKC will continue to comply with the minimum safety health protocols implemented as a precaution against Covid-19.
“We at Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center, a center that seeks to provide dignified 'Kain-Aral-Ligo Ng Ayos' (Kalinga) for our dear homeless sisters and brothers are resolve to follow the protocols of Covid-19. But we are more fervent in sending a message to all people of goodwill: "compassion knows no time, boundaries, and pandemic," added Villanueva.
He also called on the faithful to donate and partner with AJKC in sharing "dignified, systematic and holistic care" for the homeless.
"Come and be a partner in the mission of providing dignified, systematic and holistic care to the MOST - Marginalized, Outcast, Suffering and Tormented," the founder of the facility said.
He added that the center has a three-part mission of providing a holistic and systematic appreciation of the dignity of everyone in need, providing an alternative learning system and income to restore everyone's self-worth for a new life.
Last year, the representative of Pope Francis in the country personally participated in the commemoration of the sixth anniversary of the facility.
Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Charles John Brown, extended his admiration and recognition to all those behind and overseeing the facility.
In 2015, the Society of Divine Word (SVD) congregation founded St. Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center to provide assistance for those in need especially the street homeless who do not have a permanent residence in the city of Manila. (PNA)
