One of the main livelihoods of the people of Catanduanes is abaca farming. They would plant abaca trees, and once they are ready for harvest, would hand strip the fibers and dry them. Unfortunately, Vilma’s abaca trees got infested with parasites. They died.
Vilma Torrente, 51, has a severe case of hypertension. She has 8 children with the eldest aged 33 and the youngest aged 13. Having grown-up children, one would think she can already relax and have some help from her elder sons and daughters. Besides, she cannot work as much now that she has hypertension. But a mother’s heart for her children never fades.
Despite her condition, Vilma still wants to be able to provide for her children and support them for their daily needs. “When my children come to me, I want to always give them at least something, even just a small amount. Even when what I have on hand is not that much for my husband and I, I still want to help my children. I guess that is just how it is for us mothers,” she thoughtfully said. That is why losing this season’s abaca harvest was heartbreaking for her.
Thanks to her neighbor, Vilma found out about Operation Blessing’s medical mission in their area. She made it a point not to miss it. She had her checkup and was given a month’s worth of maintenance medicine for hypertension for free.
When asked about what inspires her to keep going despite the challenges, she said, “I do not forget about God. We should not forget about God.” Truly, her God did not disappoint her.
“Thank you so much for these medicines, Operation Blessing! I cannot just get these medicines for free elsewhere, but you guys came here and gave these for free. Thank you so much! Thank You, Lord!”
Once again, we made an impact on the lives of others. We have not just given free checkups and medicines to the people of Catanduanes; we were extensions of God’s healing hand to them. Thank you so much, DONORS and PARTNERS! To keep supporting Operation Blessing’s HEALTHCARE programs, go to www.operationblessing.ph. You may also call 09399215543 for inquiries.
DSWD-SB-SP-000061-2021-Nationwide. Valid until Nov 23, 2022.