THE Latter-day Saint Charities (LDSC), humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, donated last week over half a million pesos worth of vaccine carriers and vaccine cards to the Department of Health (DOH)-Zamboanga Peninsula.

Brother Ronald Aban, Welfare and Self-Reliance (WSR) manager of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the donation was contributed by the members of the church.

“This is to heed to the invitation of Jesus Christ to come to follow Him and do good,” Aban said.

The donation included four cold storage vaccine transport boxes each worth P120,000 and 30,000 vaccination cards worth P30,000.

The vaccine carrier has adjustable temperatures and can accommodate some 2,000 doses of vaccines.

Aban handed over the donation to Dr. Joshua Brillantes, DOH-Zamboanga Peninsula director, in a simple ceremony at the Zamboanga Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints along Tomas Claudio Street in Zone 3 village, Zamboanga City.

Elder Bartolome Madriaga of Area Seventy of the Church, Zamboanga Philippine Stake president Melchor Pahulaya, Assistant Communication Director for Media Affairs Belsie Agustin, DOH-Zamboanga Peninsula Assistant Director Lenny Joy Johnson-Rivera, and former City Health Officer Rodel Agbulos witnessed the handover of donations.

Brillantes said they are grateful for the donations, which will help boost the immunization program of the health agency.

“These (carriers) will be used for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines and for the vaccines being used for the routine immunization such as polio, Hepatitis B, and others,” Brillantes said.

The DOH-Zamboanga Peninsula is one of the three DOH regional offices in Mindanao that received similar donations from the LDSC. (SunStar Zamboanga)