“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” — John Holmes
Valentine’s Day is a special moment where everyone can freely wear their hearts on their sleeves, as we can all feel the romantic breeze of love hanging in the air. As for the employee volunteers in GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD), celebrating the season of love had a more profound purpose.
In partnership with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), GNPD launched their blood donation drive entitled “LoveFusion: Extend A Life This Valentine’s Day” last February 13 as the focus for this month’s leg of Project Saysay. Project Saysay is the company’s flagship employee-led community outreach program where birthday celebrators can choose a community or beneficiary to celebrate their special day with a cause. This love month, they chose the patients from Bataan Kidney & Dialysis Center (BKDC), who received a total of 67 blood bags from GNPD, which can help extend their life.
Based on the data from BKDC, each patient typically requires 1 blood bag per transfusion, summing up their total requirements to at least 4 bags per week.
According to Pierre Manuel, a nurse at the Bataan Kidney & Dialysis Center, they cater 30 to 40 patients every day, which undergo dialysis twice or thrice a week. “’Yung mga dialysis patients, need na need nila itong dugo na ito dahil madalas bumababa ang hemoglobin nila sa dahil sa kidney problems nila,” he stated.
He also highlighted that it would help the families of their patients, as it can relieve them of the expenses of blood transfusion. “Malaking tulong ito hindi lang sa mga pasyente, kundi pati na rin sa mga pamilya nila dahil mahal din ang pagbili ng dugo.”
All donations from GNPD employees will directly go to the patients, which means they will no longer need to purchase blood bags from PRC. It guarantees that each patient will have 1 blood bag reserved for them once they need it, whether for maintenance or emergency cases wherein the patient’s hemoglobin level drastically drops down.
After the blood donation drive, the employees visited the patients at the center, where they had a chance to hear their stories and motivate them to stay strong despite their current challenges.
Jaymark Ofrecio, one of the employee-volunteers, expressed that Project Saysay is a great avenue that engages them with our community. “Sa pamamagitan ng programang ito, naging instrumento kami upang mabigyan ng pag-asa at lakas ng loob ang mga pasyente ng Bataan Kidney and Dialysis Center. Sa mga dugo na ating naibahagi sa kanila ay kalakip nito ang panibagong pag-asa na makakamtam pa nila ang lubos kagalingan at kalakasan na kanilang idinadalangin,” he expressed.
Through these initiatives, we all get to see a redefined sense of love – one that takes a deeper meaning and delivers a profound purpose – to challenge the boundaries of our commitment to the community we serve by extending the languages of love into something that will remain ingrained for generations.
GNPD’s commitment to empowering progress in the community promotes a diverse approach, which includes safeguarding quality health access through its employee-led volunteer programs.