(Press Release) — On March 4, 2021, the Saipan Fil-American Lions Club donated financial assistance to Mary Joy Manalaysay in Cavite province, south of Manila, the Philippines.
Saipan Fil-American Lions Club representatives pose for a photo with cancer patient Mary Joy Manalaysay and some of her family members at their home in Cavite province, south of Manila, the Philippines.
Contributed photo
One of her neighbors contacted the club president through Facebook messenger, saying that Manalaysay needed a donor/sponsor so she could start on another cycle of chemotherapy.
The neighbor said she searched for an organization on Facebook that could provide help, and she learned that the Saipan Fil-American Lions Club had helped the Taal Volcano victims in Batangas province, the typhoon and Covid victims in the Bicol region, the schools in Laguna province and the Visayas, among other regions in the Philippines, so she tried her luck and was able to contact the club president, Eden Mercado.
Mercado then asked her sister to visit Manalaysay. It was learned that the patient has been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in the later part of 2019, and had underwent eight cycles of chemotherapy. In February, her CT scan showed that she had metastasis in her liver and lungs, and so she was advised by her doctor to undergo a second cycle of chemotherapy.
The club’s service chairperson, Marilyn Quebral, noted that cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide. “In our own little way we are fortunate that we can extend assistance to Ms. Manalaysay,” she added. “We listen, we care and, we serve.”
Manalaysay’s case was brought up during a club meeting and without hesitation, the members said they were willing to provide assistance, Mercado said.
“Acts of kindness and generosity will always give a tremendous impact on all of us,” she added.
Julia Fabiana, a Saipan Fil-American Lions Club members currently in Quezon City, Metro Manila, traveled to Cavite to hand over the club’s assistance to Manalaysay.
The recipient said the club’s assistance is an answered prayer. “The club is an angel that was sent from above,” she added.
If you have a passion for serving the community and those in need of help, you may want to join the Lions Clubs International. For more information, call Eden Mercado at 788-2416 or Mario Mayuga at 285-1021. You may also visit the website at www.lionsclubs.org
