World Health Organization
Department of Health 
Like any other rights that we all have, sanitation is also a human right. Part of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations is Goal #6 which aims to achieve universal access to clean water and sanitation. With the global threat of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), maintaining hygienic surrounding, especially among vulnerable communities, must be done more than ever.
A private college situated on Max Suniel Street in Barangay Carmen, CDO makes sure that people living in high-risk areas, where physical distancing and sanitation are a privilege, are not left out in this time of the pandemic. As a first response to help their immediate community, the institution has given hygiene kits to mitigate the spread of the virus. In this way, sanitation would become accessible to those who would rather buy food to fill their aching stomach than allocate a portion of their measly income to something inedible like hand soap or sanitizers. The hygiene kits include three bars of hand soap, a bottle of bleach for home disinfection, and a roll of tissue paper.
Residents living beside a creek near the school as well as sikad drivers situated just outside were some of the recipients of these essentials. Meanwhile, volunteers distributed the kits to people with disabilities (PWDs) in Divisoria. Aside from them, barangay healthcare workers (BHWs) in Carmen and Macasandig health centers received these hygiene kits to secure their safety while serving the country and the people on the frontline.
Francis Albert Calas, one of the volunteer employees of the institution in this initiative, explains the importance of extending our hands to people in the grassroots: “The vulnerable cannot just stay at home kay unsaon nalang man nila ilang pangita para sa ilang pamilya? We are providing them with hygiene kits to lessen their chance of catching the virus even when they are outside their houses trying to make ends meet. Our collective kindness and understanding would create a positive ripple effect throughout the vulnerable sector.”
The higher learning institution’s advocacy of “Making Lives Better” as a vital part of nation-building is a big influence why this initiative continues to run not only in Cagayan de Oro but also in seven Philippine cities and provinces where the network of schools is situated.
