The Charity Committee

by VW Lucas Ty

The charity works of the lodge can be traced back to as early as 1902, after the Lodge received its Charter, it provided financial assistance to Bro. A. Crawford  (a public school teacher) who was afflicted with pneumonia and confined at a military hospital in San Mateo.  From then on, Manila Lodge No.1 had been involved in countless charity works for masons and non-masons alike.

Today, the lodge is still very active in its traditional Charity Projects of Harelip & Cleft Palate Program, as well as the Eye Saving Program. For the harelip & cleft palate, children with these deformities are treated at the St. Martin de Porres Hospital in San Juan, Metro Manila, about 25 -30 patients are sponsored by the Lodge annually.

For the eye saving program, our major benefactors are WB Dr. Willie Ang Bue Te who performs the surgery and WB Manfred Rode who donates the Intraocular lens. These two noble brethren have been supporting this project for more than 20 years and the Lodge had assisted scores of beneficiaries, including non-masons patients. These charity projects are funded by contributions from brother masons, including Lodge members who are now based in foreign countries.

Through the years, the Lodge has continued to maintain and support its charity works, thru which it is hoped that the tenets of Freemasonry as practiced by the members can be shared with masons and non-masons alike.