From the very beginning of the pandemic the Orthodox parishes in the dioceses of the Philippines-Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore of the Patriarchal Exarchate of South-East Asia have been doing all that is possible for them to help low-income families and lonely people. In the countries where the epidemiological situation allows the faithful of moving through the city, parishioners seek to purchase jointly foodstuffs, personal protective gear and care items and convey them to the needy on a regular basis.
On August 24=5, 2021, Father Seraphim Choi and Sister Sergia (Idrisova) of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, visited for the first time the Danka Kota quarter wh ere over one thousand families without a stable earning live. Local people received foodstuff kits collected by the parish. They include rice, flour, sugar, butter and tinned sardines. The good initiative was joined by staff member of the Russian Science and Culture Center in Kuala Lumpur and thanks to their assistance, personal protective gear was added to the good packages.
In total, aid was received by twenty families in need. Among those who came for the food was a local resident who thanked the Orthodox benefactors in Russian ‘Bolshoye spasibo!’ In addition, having learnt about a family with eight children, whose parents had been taken to hospital for treatment for COVID-19, Sister Sergia (Idrisova) baked traditional Russian sweet rolls to cheer them up.
