Caritas Virac Justice and Peace, Inc. is looking for 758 generous individuals who desire to be part of the Alay Kapwa’s Expanded Program aimed at raising funds for its various programs and projects.
In a recent activity at Risen Christ Chapel in Virac, 247 participants from different barangays of 50 parishes and mission churches in the Diocese of Virac attended an orientation on the Alay Kapwa campaign and the Social Action Works of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Caritas Philippines.
According to Rev. Fr. Carmelo “Tito” Caluag, head of Caritas Philippines’ Alay Kapwa Expanded Program, its goals are to attain overall sustainability, replicability, and scalability of the Seven Legacy Programs.
These are: the Alay Kapwa Para sa Karunungan, which provides tutorials for academically challenged students and a holistic alternative learning system for out-of-school youth and young adults; Alay Kapwa Para sa Kalusugan, which contributes to the improvement of health and dignity of life through a family-based approach feeding program to feed “poorest among the poor” families; Alay Kapwa Pasa sa Kabuhayan, which aims to give Filipinas the chance to have sustainable livelihood and achieve food security; Katarungan at Kapayapaan, which seeks to eradicate structural sin and establish Diocesan Justice and Peace Programs focusing on legal education, documentation, and legal assistance to address justice and peace concerns; Alay Kapwa Para sa Kasanayan, which will train and form the Social Action teams of the church; Katugunan sa Kalamidad, which gives emergency relief packages, shelter, livelihood, community formation and capacity building activities to help families and communities affected by calamities; and Kalikasan, through which the Caritas Philippines National Ecological Advocacy aims to concretize the protection of the environment through a five-year ecology program.
The other goals, Fr. Caluag said, are to have at least one Legacy Program in each of the Philippines’ 86 Dioceses and to establish an Alay Kapwa Expanded Fund, an Annual Giving Fund with 1 million people donating P500 per year, or an annual total of P500 million, by 2025.
The funds raised through the program are being utilized to fund different programs and projects such as scholarship, disaster response, health and nutrition, environmental care and capability buildings.
Aside from sustaining, replicating and scaling the Seven Alay Kapwa Legacy programs, it is hoped the expanded AK program will come a nationwide movement to build the Philippine Church into a Church for and of the Poor through a network of compassion led by Caritas Philippines, it was stressed.
Based on each Diocese’s total Catholic population, Caritas Virac will seek to encourage at least 758 generous individuals in the island Diocese to be part of the Alay Kapwa Program.