Nutrition program for Manila's hungriest kids launched

If a brother or a sister be naked, if they lack their daily nourishment and one of you says to them: Go in peace, be warmed and be filled: without giving them what is necessary for the body, what good does it do? - James 2:15-16

A FEEDING program aimed to reach 5,000 severely malnourished children was launched jointly by Akap Bata and the Hapag-asa Pondo ng Pinoy on 4 March 2006 at the Estero de Magdalena in the seedy district of Tondo, Manila.

Fr. Anton C.T. Pascual, executive director of Caritas Manila, celebrated the mass during the launch attended by the beneficiaries, child rights advocates and .

Ms. Gloria G. Mallillin, executive director of Akap Bata explained that the nutrition program is essential to other early childhood development projects it is currently delivering to school-age children. She notes that parents' inability to sustain its food budget forces children to forego proper food intake or quit school altogether, thus aggravating a vicious circle of poverty and missed opportunities for self-advancement.

As of the middle of May, 1,000 children were identified and received emergency food supplies.