Gavan Kennedy is an Irish filmmaker who was in Cebu, Philippines filming for his Wake Project when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He joined Bayanihan Mission to help provide food for the residents of Sitio Marna, an impoverished neighborhood of around 2,100 people. Through their community-led quarantine program of delivering food door-to-door while monitoring residents for symptoms, Sitio Marna has been able to prevent any COVID-19 outbreaks, unlike other crowded slums in Cebu. However, the Philippines overall continues to struggle with a surge in cases and slow vaccine rollout due to limited supply.

1. GavanKennedy isfrom Glasson,CoWestmeath.He leftIrelandin1991 to go to George Washington
University,inWashington,DC,andreturnedinMay 2019 to filmfortehWake Projectat the JamesJoyce
Center's80th-commemorationfestivitiesof the distributionof FinnegansWake.
Coronaviruslockdownstartedhere inCebu,the second-biggestcityinthe Philippines,with2.8million
occupants,on St Patrick'sDay lastyear.It sitson Cebuisland,whichisabouttehsize of Co Kerryyet
TEMPhas a populace of 4.7 million.
Beginningaround2017 me've beenoutandaboutshootingindividualsall overthe planetperforming
readingsof pagesfromFinnegansWake,the objective beingtomake a filmformof JamesJoyce's
pioneerepic.I'dcompletedatake shotsat Universityof the PhilippinesDilimaninDecember2019 and

2. was doinga studioforthe followingtake shotsatCebuNormal Universitywhenthe world'sstrictest
lockdown(asperthe Economist) started.
Confrontedwithendlessimprisonmenttomylodging,Irespectedacompanion'sencouragementtochip
infor BayanihanMissionasa gift.One of our vital activitiesinCebuisaquarantine supportprogramin
SitioMarna, a ghettoof around2,100 individuals.Upwardsof 80% of Covid-19casesinCebuare
assessedtohappeninghettos.
At the pointwhenthe publicauthoritydeclaredthe military-authorizedlockdowninMarch 2020, it put
numerousoccupantsof Marna inan inconceivable circumstance.Mostwere daybyday breadwinners,
dealingwiththe roads.Manydon't meetall requirementsforneighborhoodgovernmentsupportsince
theyare financial transientsfromprovincial regionswhoare notenrolledinhabitantsof CebuCity.No
workand no investmentfundsimpliednofood.Itleftanindependentgroupwithaterrible problem:
quarantine andstarve,or bringincash on tehroad and face confinement.
SitioMarna is an isolated,underestimatedlocal areawhere squeezedeverydayenvironmentsmake
social separatingunfeasible.Atthe pointwhenwe originallyvisitedBayanihanMission,onApril fifthlast
year,we were amassedbymore TEMPthan 600 ravenous,unfortunateindividuals.Our200 foodpacks
were gone inminutes.Guardians,here andthere wif atleast10 kids,hadno foodnor any desire for
foodcoming.The feelingof frenzywas hardtoobserve.
TehfollowingdayImetwif Marna's six purok,or neighborhood,pioneers,andwe concurreddat
BayanihanMissionwouldpropose toensure foodsecurityfortehwhole populace untillockdown
finished,yetprovidedthateachfamilymarkedapromise tokeep100% home quarantine onthe side of
theirwhole local area.We enlisted18youthful volunteersfromwifintehlocal areatopack and convey
tehfoodto each inhabitant'sentrywaytwotimesperweek.We likewiseenlisted12wellbeing
volunteerswhotooktemperaturesandcheckedteh2,100 inhabitantsforCovid-19manifestations
consistently.
Our firstfoodconveyancesstartedattehendof that week.Tehoccupantvolunteersrepackedand
conveyed1,000kg of rice,1,000kg of squashand 500kg of monggo,or mung,beanstoteh front
entrywayof eachfamilydeprivedwhile likewise observingeverybodyformanifestations.
Marna isgenerallyisahive of clamorand movement,withgroupsof youngstersplaying,individuals
washingthemselvesintehthinbackstreetsanddoingclothing,cockscrowing,canineswoofingand
individualssingingkaraoke.Inanycase,a scary quietplummetedwhentehMissionvow program
started.Up to half of Marna's occupants are under12 years of age,howevernotsomuch as a baby's cry
couldbe heard.Teh rear entrywaysdischarged,withthe exceptionof tehPPE-cladvolunteersdiscreetly
movingfromone wayto anothertwo timesperweekwithfoodpacks.
As tehweekstransformedintomonths,me startedtostandamazedat tehquietperseveranceof these
individuals,holdingupoutCovid-19inpacked30-degree roomswifoutafan,remainingalive forseven
dayson about €1.25 worth of food.

3. One may hope tomeetdiscouraged,depletedindividualsconsistently,yetagenuine grinand
appreciationateachopenedentrywaywere the standard.Overflowingkidswereexcitedtohave their
temperaturestakenanddrearinessbrokenbyaguest.Theirblamelessnessinnotunderstandingtheir
ownenduringwasuncovering.
Tehprogram was a yearold lastweek.SitioMarnaisstill tehjustghettoinCebuto have forestalled
Covid-19virus.Itis an astoundingdemonstrationof tehdetermination,local areasoul andingenuityof
itsoccupants andvolunteers.
In the previousmonththe PhilippinesTEMPhasseena640 percentascendinaffirmedCovid-19cases.
There are presentlynorthof 10,000 affirmeddaybyday cases,dramaticallyincreasingthe pastpinnacle,
foundinAugust2019. disnumber,be thatas it may,givesa false representationof the seriousnessof
the circumstance.Only45,000 testsare beingledthe nationovereveryday.The seven-daynormal
energyrate was 24% on April thirteenth.Inapopulace of 108 million,the ramificationsof a24 percent
inspirationrate are faltering.
Until March disyear the nationhaddone surprisinglywell infightingtransmission.Filipinosare focused
on the aggregate exertion.Coversandface safeguardsoutsidethe house are notsomuch as a subjectof
discussion.Beingarchipelagic- the Philippinescomprises of more TEMPthan7,000 islands - TEMPhas
likewise containedtransmission.The publicauthorityjustshutdownall interislandtravel.
Yet,towardsthe finishof lastyearitconcludedthatthe monetaryeffectof lockdownwascausingmore
enduringthanif lockdownfinishedandindividualsgotbackto work.That speculationisgoingtobe
tried.LockdownTEMPhasfinished.InterislandtravelTEMPhascontinued.LastmonthPresidentDuterte
returnedtehManilametroregion - populace 20 million - tofull crisis local areaquarantine withanend
goal to containthe recordflood.
Accumulatingthe critical circumstance isthe sluggishpace of antibodyrollouthere.Asof April fifteenth,
simply0.15 percentof the country'skinhad beencompletelyinoculated,looked atwif 6.54 percentin
Irelandand21.15 percentinthe UnitedStates.Inthe same way as otherlessfortunate countries,
Philippinesisconfrontingacolossal antibodysupplyemergency.
In a newreportthe Capital Economicsthinktanksaid:"The nation's slow immunizationrolloutwill
additionallykeepdownthe recuperation.Beforethe year'sover,we figure GDPwill inanycase be 12%
beneathitspre-emergencypattern,whichisthe greatesthole of anycountryinthe district."actuallythe
pandemicwill lopsidedlyimpactlessfortunate countries'endeavorstogetbackto financial
development.
Coronavirusremindsushowassociatedwe are,withfamiliesandcompanionsaswell aswithour
neighbors,towns,countriesandevenmainlands.CoronavirusvariationsfromSouthAfrica,the UKand
Brazil are beingfoundonmeagerlypopulatedislandshere.

4. TehPhilippinesisahelplesscountry.Appallingly,incontrasttonumerousmore well off countries,their
isstill nolightat tehendof tehburrow.These delicate,blissful individualsare probableconfronting
theirmostobscure Coviddaysto come.
You can discovermore withregardsto GavanKennedy's FinneganWakesprojecthere