In 2020, the pandemic forced schools and some businesses to temporarily close to help mitigate the spread of the deadly virus, COVID-19. This also meant that the regular physical operation of the foundation came to a sudden halt, including the monthly meeting and distribution of allowances which was religiously participated by the members of the board and staff, the scholars and their parents.
Despite the restrictions brought by the pandemic, the foundation’s commitment to serve its scholars had to continue. To be able to hold meetings and distribute allowances, SFK shifted from the regular face to face activity to online meetings via Google Meet and online banking. With these changes, everyone was obliged to learn to connect digitally and adapt with the new normal. And to ensure that allowances of scholars arrived in time for their school necessities, SFK provided ATM cards to each scholar to ease in the distribution of their allowances.
During the meeting, the first order of the day is for the participants to join in the morning devotion, just like it used to before the pandemic. Facilitated by the ever enthusiastic and devoted member of the board, Mrs. Iluminada Quiñones, the scholars, parents and staff are enjoined in this religious celebration. Every month, four (4) scholars are assigned in the scripture readings and prayer intentions while the rest of the participants join in the community singing. Prior to pandemic, the distribution of allowance usually follows after the morning devotion. However, it is now being done through online bank transfer directly to the scholars’ ATM. This was made possible by enrolling all the scholars to an individual savings account with the Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom). The savings account came with an ATM card which the scholar uses to conveniently withdraw their allowance from any Automated Teller Machines anytime, anywhere.
Scholars also uses the regular monthly meeting as an opportunity for them to catch up with one another, chit chatting and exchanging personal experiences in school and in their family while patiently waiting for the activity to commence. On the other side of the room, the parents are forming their own circle of friends, gradually developing friendship and bond with their co-parents. The members of the board present during the activity together with the social worker and administrative assistant also utilize the monthly meeting and get together to accommodate and address special concerns of some scholars. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, scholars didn’t have so much time to talk among themselves during online meetings. Nevertheless, special matters and concerns were still addressed to the best of the foundation’s ability.
SFK held its first online meeting on June 27, 2021 and the last was on November 27, 2022, excluding the Annual Virtual Party in December of the same year. Its first online monthly distribution of allowances on record through bank transfer was on September 28, 2020. Although there has been two face-to-face meetings held since the beginning of 2023 where scholars received their allowance in cash, the foundation finds it indispensable to distribute allowances through bank transfer whenever the need arises.
