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Every day, we receive pictures and reports from parishes that distributed our kalabasa donations to the communities they serve.

In Malate, Paco, and Sta Ana, Parokya ng Laging Saklolo, Holy Family Parish, St Anthony of Padua Parish, St Pius X Parish, and Santisima Parish shared one ton of kalabasa with persons with disabilities, pregnant women, scavengers, and recyclers from urban poor communities in the vicinity. Among these is the Jaime Cardinal Sin Village, a resettlement project developed for the urban poor. St Anthony, which runs a soup kitchen, served ginataang sitaw at kalabasa and pinakbet.

Maraming salamat, Fr JD Zaldivar, for coordinating both the pick-up of kalabasa from TYF's talipapa as well as the parishes' submission of reports.

May we draw strength and inspiration from parishes who tirelessly strive to feed their communities.

It gladdens our hearts when we hear about parishes that feature kalabasa in their celebrations. In recent weeks, some parishes gave away TYF's kalabasa to churchgoers during Mother's Day and parish fiestas.

Last Sunday, the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Parañaque City distributed large slices of kalabasa to around 500 churchgoers as part of their celebration of Father’s Day. The parish stressed it was also their way of showing solidarity with farmers; it even printed a poster saying

Kalabasa Project
Ang ating parokya ay sumusuporta sa ating mga lokal na magsasaka!

Maraming salamat to Rev Fr Locarno Anor, CP and to the parish team led by Nilah Barles, coordinator of the Commission of Service to Human Promotion. In your hands, the kalabasa isn’t just a vegetable we rescue, but one we celebrate.

Fr Ronnie Santos, director of the Diocese of Cubao Social Action Center, reported on the growing number of people living in the streets -- sometimes entire families at a time. They have organized the street dwellers into a group called Kalye Pagasa and plan to put up a drop-in center beside the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish where they can use a clean toilet and take a shower. They also recognize the urgency of providing livelihood skills and opportunities; in the photos, street dwellers show off the liquid detergent they had been taught to make.

TYF is happy to support community-based projects such as this. The 500 kg of kalabasa donated by TYF were shared during Kalye Pagasa's gathering last Saturday.

Salamat, Fr Ronnie and your DSAC team, for your service which brings joyful hope to the streets.