The COVID-19 pandemic shone a spotlight on the crucial role of women in building healthy, sustainable and effective societies to meet the needs of people, particularly the most fragile. From families and communities to the highest levels of government and leadership, women demonstrated that it is in their nature to lead, promote and animate cooperatively and constructively in times of crisis.
A project implemented by Caritas Philippines and animated in particular by women is exemplary in explaining the resilience they have brought to the communities.
At the time of the initial roll-out of the vaccines in the Philippines, COVID cases continued to increase and the country was the second worst affected in South East Asia. It was stated that according to the March 2021 report of Human Rights Watch, the response of the government of the Philippines to Covid-19 has resulted in serious human rights violations. Additionally, at that time, the Philippines had 17.7% unemployment and 30.7% hunger rates.
Jing Henderson, Advocacy Director at Caritas Philippines, explained that in response to this situation, ”
We adopted the idea of Caritas Kindness Stations, initiated in one of our dioceses, and founded on the conviction that the only way to counteract the effects of COVID was to counteract selfishness and closure with kindness, generosity and compassion.”
“Caritas Kindness Stations are run by volunteers from the parish and community or by members of savings and self-help groups – mostly women! It works like a community shop where everyone is invited to take what they need for the day and share something in return – vegetables from their garden, a bottle of soy sauce or a kilo of rice – creating a virtuous process of give and take and highlighting the invaluable value of sharing in times of loneliness.”
As well as the Kindness Stations, Caritas Philippines also established community-led Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning teams, predominantly led by and composed of women.
These teams have been instrumental in increasing accountability and feedback within the communities, and have revealed some intrinsic aspects of women’s nature that played a significant role in the responses to COVID-19: pragmatism and the search for concrete solutions, the tendency to plan, the ability to raise awareness and demonstrate solidarity, empathy, flexibility, the ability to “take care” of both families and the communities in which they live, the readiness to be at the forefront for the common good, be it family or community.
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