Filipino nurses, doctors, and health care workers are on the front lines all over the world in the global war against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19).
There are more than 200,000 Filipino nurses, in the United States, an estimated 21,000 Filipino nurses in the National Health System of Great Britain, and an innumerable number of exceptional Pinoy nurses and health care personnel in Italy, Canada, the Middle East, who are giving their sweat, tears, and even lives in the frontlines.
Their excellent contributions to global health, their amazing achievements, and fantastic reputation as very caring health care providers have been recently highlighted not only by Piers Morgan in his UK show Good Morning Britain when he thanked Filipino nurses for their astonishing role in the frontlines in UK’s COVID 19 fight.
New Yorkers applauded coronavirus frontline workers while in other parts of the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, and the world, all kinds of goodwill and admirations have been expressed about the Filipino brand of care.
A lot of concerned individuals are showing their appreciation to health workers by providing constant delivery of food like pizzas, burgers, and coffee to these heroes.
A parent, a grandparent, a child, a sibling, a relative, a friend, a classmate, a neighbor – practically every Filipino knows of someone working in the healthcare industry. They have helped families, friends, communities and our economy. In the past, we barely thanked them when a package from them arrives during the Christmas season. We never really gave time to think how hard and difficult their jobs are.
But now we see them in action as they tirelessly perform their duties, regardless of consequences to their life and the future welfare of their families, they still bravely charge the frontlines. We admire their resolve and are beginning to understand how difficult and how scary their daily battles are in the frontlines.
No one exactly knows how many Filipino healthcare workers we have already lost, how many are sick, how many are dying and how many more will fall.
It is now the time to ask ourselves what can we do for our dear brave heroes … maybe something more than admiration, more than organized applause, more than food and coffee, more than gift checks and money. I’m sure they’ll appreciate personal protective equipment (PPEs) and would agree if we call on the authorities to provide for more PPEs and safety equipment to protect them.
But for most of us, prayer is the best gift we can offer. It is something very powerful we can give them. Yes, our Prayers are something they are actually asking for in these perilous times. A Filipina nurse in Italy has asked for it: “we are contaminated, i-pray nyo na lang kami”.
Prayers, to help them carry on the fight, to keep them strong, healthy and unscathed; and to give them the strength and courage to gallantly perform their duties in spite of their fears and risks to their lives.
At the University of the Philippines, doctors released a video to inspire their fellow frontliners at the Philippine General Hospital, a designated COVID-19 referral center.
SHARE THIS CALL FOR PRAYERS for our Filipino frontliners and TELL US stories of Pinoy bravery in the comments below.
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