The supply of blood is even harder during the Pandemic (Covid-19). Blood without alternative materials can only be replaced through direct blood-letting, but because numbers of donors had dramatically decreased, the supply of blood also decreased extensively. During this critical time, members of Intl. We Love U Foundation (Chairwoman Zhang Gil Ja), which is affiliated with UN’s DGC, pull-up their sleeves to help the supply of Blood.
This project is under one of the agendas of Save the World- healthy earth & hopeful future of humankind. This Agenda is performed simultaneously from mid-August in countries like, India, Brazil, Peru, Australia, Republic of South Africa and more. One of the purposes is to also raise awareness of the importance of Blood Letting so that more lives will be saved.
In accordance with the blood drive, ‘Worldwide Clean World Movement’ is also performed to promote a cleaner environment. The United Nations set Sept 7 as the ‘Blue Sky Day’. So the foundation has decided to clean up creeks, sea, parks and mountainous areas that are directly connected to urban city environments. Through these voluntary works, we can also raise awareness about climate change to many people living in urban areas. These projects are performed simultaneously in the United States of America, India, Namibia, Australia and Mongolia.
In the Philippines, the Foundation is performing Blood Donation on the 26th. Around 130 ordinary members and family members of Intl. We Love U Foundation are volunteering to participate in blood donation at two different sites: Philippine General Hospital and Philippine Red Cross Headquarters. Due to protocols, we have scheduled to visit the sites by teams. 10~12 donors in 1 team are grouped. From 8 am to 5pm, 5 groups will visit the site every 2 hours to avoid crowding. Social distancing, temperature checking and hand sanitizing were also strictly followed. Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, director of PGH and Christine Lanorio, Manager of PRC had expressed their experience with the foundation.
Last February, Dr. Lagaspi, director of PGH, volunteered to be the first Doctor vaccinated in PGH. He welcomed the group with great appreciation.
This day, there were 56 people who passed the screening test and successfully donated 42 packs of blood. Considering that 1 pack of blood can save 3 people, the group was able to save 126 people.
One of the members who successfully donated, Ms. Sheryll A. Mejia has said, “I’m very happy to be part of this program, especially during this pandemic situation, where everyone is experiencing this crisis. This world really needs love and I’m very happy to be able to show the love of Mother through the blood donation program.” Dr. Tetsuya Jumi Makino, RN, MD medical officer of Philippine Red Cross said, “They would like to extend their sincerest gratitude towards the Chairwoman Zhang Gil-jah and the entire International WeloveU Foundation. As the pandemic hit the Philippines hard, we have experienced low blood supply even more than before. With the philippine population reaching 109 million, we would ideally collect 1 million packs of blood, As of 2020, we would only be able to collect 359 thousand packs of blood. So every drop counts towards attaining more lives saved here in the Philippines. We would like to work with this foundation in the future.”
Intl. We Love U Foundation had a mass bloodletting movement last July, 2019. Laoag and General Santos, members of the foundation, were able to gather 2,100 members and out of them, 851 members were able to successfully donate. Intl. We Love U Foundation held a special MOU agreement with the Philippine Red Cross at that time. In May of the same year, around 3,000 gathered in UP Diliman to participate in New Life Love Walkathon to help support, elderlies, education and tree planting related projects. The foundation also was able to support food packs for Yolanda Victims and also constructed 2 school buildings in Tanauan Leyte area. Recently, the group also donated 100 school bags and umbrellas in one elementary school in Tarlac area. Donated 22 medical beds and 10,000 face masks to DOH affiliated modular hospital cabins in Quezon Institute Covid facility to help fight against Covid-19. Including the Philippines, USA, El Salvador, Brazil, Mozambique and more, around 30 countries benefited from the foundation to fight against Covid-19.
With a slogan of ‘To the whole world with Mother’s Love’, Intl. We Love U Foundation collaborates with around 30 international organizations, national governments and even with city governments to help the society through various kinds of welfare activities. In Honduras, the group collaborated with Commission Permanente de Contingencias Honduras (COPECO) and donated 30,000 USD worth of materials for refugees (hurricane victims). The group also donated Covid-19 medical kits for the participants of different department employees who joined the inauguration ceremony of the President of Ecuador. Collaborated also with Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO) to donate 747 hygiene kits and financial support for incurable disease victims to vulnerable societies in Jordan and also Syrian refugees. The group is also planning to support 150,000 masks and PPE to Nepal through the Korean Embassy in Nepal.
For all these Philanthropic acts of the group, many international agencies and governments have recognized their efforts. The group received various kinds of awards worldwide and some of which are: Presidential Medal from the president of South Korea, Voluntary Service award from the President of the United States of America (8 times), Medal from the King of Cambodia, Recognition from the Secretary of Women Welfare of Peru, International Environmental award- Green Apple Award.