■ USJR FEEDS HOMELESS FAMILIES NEAR SCHOOL
At least once a week, homeless adults and children around University of San Jose-Recoletes will get free meals. The university launched lat March 20 its program “Lamesa ni San Jose” (St. Joseph’s Table). “Hunger is still the number one problem in the country,” said Institute of Non-Formal Education and Community Outreach Program (INFECOP) director Bro. Jaazeal Jakosalem.
Lamesa ni San Jose is a food-sharing program intended for the poor living within the vicinity of the University of San Jose-Recoletos, in time for the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the university’s patron.
Lamesa ni San Jose was launched last March 20 and aims to provide free meal to underprivileged sector in the community. For this Holy Week, USJ-R will serve the meal to the beneficiaries at dinner time today, Holy Monday.
Hungry street kids and homeless adults around the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) will be provided with a free meal at least once a week by the university.
This, after USJ-R launched the Lamesa ni San Jose (St. Joseph’s Table) last March 20.
“Hunger is still the number one problem in the country,” said Institute of Non-Formal Education and Community Outreach Program (INFECOP) director Bro. Jaazeal Jakosalem. “This is our institutional response to the problem. We just cannot close our eyes.”
During the program launch at the university grounds, 83 children and adult were given a meal of rice, fried chicken, squash soup with coconut milk and banana.
Jakosalem said that feeding the poor on the occasion of the feast of St. Joseph is an old tradition by the Catholic Church. He said the Cebuano phrase “magpa-San Jose” (loosely translated as “to do a San Jose”) means to do a charitable work, such as feeding the poor in honor of the foster father of Jesus.
“We are reintroducing that practice, especially that our school bears the name of St. Joseph,” he said.
St. Joseph, he said, worked hard to provide for the needs of the Holy Family.
Dr. Joan de Catalina, INFECOP supervisor, said beneficiaries of the food-sharing program were dwellers of surrounding streets like Magallanes, Borromeo, Leon Kilat and even as far as Colon.
She said succeeding food sharing will be done every Friday at dinner time.
On Holy Week, the university will prepare a meal for the beneficiaries today, Holy Monday.
De Catalina said that an organization of Hospitality Management students of USJ-R sponsored the first food-sharing activity. They were also the ones who cooked and prepared the food, supervised by their teacher Chef Richard Hao.