Order’s Work for Disabled Affected by Taal Volcano

The Brothers of the Oceania Province support with an annual financial contribution the attendance of a number of pupils at the Saint Raphael Day School for Special Children at Amadeo, Cavite in the Philippines.  In addition to the day school for children with learning difficulties, at the same venue is the Bahay San Rafael residence for persons afflicted by paraplegia and similar conditions.  This work of the Filipino Brothers, in the zone affected by the eruptions from the Taal Volcano since 12 January 2020, has been impacted by ash, tremors and the stifling odour of sulphur dioxide.

This necessitated temporary closure of the School for Special Children and the evacuation of the residents of Bahay San Rafael to a house of the Order in Manila. When this report was placed on the website in early February 2020, a volcanic earthquake at 3.2 level had just indicated that magma is still moving beneath the crater of the volcano.  The picture that accompanies this report, showing the arrival of the ash cloud, was taken from a window of the Brothers’ residence at Amadeo.