WE HEAL AS ONE: Woman rider delivers milk for kids, gets into accident while giving donations

by Mary Rose Go

A Malabonian rider courageously stepped up and offered a helping hand, amidst the threat of COVID-19 and road accidents, by giving fellow mothers powdered milk donated by friends and relatives.

Sheryll Ann Bincal-Regacho, a 41-year-old Malabon resident, spends her quarantine days using her motorcycle to deliver to the different parts of her community the donations she collected through her self-initiated projects.

Regacho, whose projects included providing basic needs for victims of fire and donating milk for kids, said that her initiatives are all driven by the urgency to respond to existing problems.

Most of the goods she delivered around Dampalit and other areas in Malabon and Navotas were those she collected from friends, relatives and neighbors, who would usually respond to her call for help in her FB account.

Admitting that her family is not well off, Regacho said that it was not a hindrance for her to aid those who are in need.

“Walang basehan ‘yung laki ng amount ng pera mo sa banko, maliit o malaki ang laman ng bulsa mo, basta gusto mo tumulong at pure ang intention, kahit sino ka, matanda o bata, pwedeng pwedeng tumulong sa kapwa mo sa anumang situation,” Regacho said as she encouraged other people to also help in their own little way.

Relief packs for victims of fire

On May 5, Regacho and her friends distributed at the Tonsuya Basketball Court the donations loaded in three E-tricycles to the victims of the April 30-fire in Tonsuya, Malabon.

[Read: Hundred Malabon families lose homes to fire]

A total of 108 families received relief packs that contained rice, canned goods, noodles, sugar, and coffee; food packs; and used clothes in the relief operation that Regacho coordinated to Barangay Chairman Filemon Villanueva of Tonsuya.

On May 20, Regacho initiated another relief operation for victims of fire, this time in Tanza 1, Navotas wherein 81 families that lost their homes on May 14, 2020 benefited from the relief packs, food packs, and used clothes the woman rider distributed at Tanza 1 covered court in coordination with Councilor Arnel Lupisan and his wife, Liz.

Milk for kids

Regacho initiated the Bigyan ng Gatas Yan project when her concern for babies grew because of her sister who just gave birth to her nephew.

The thought of other babies whose parents were struggling under the no-work-no-pay condition in their companies prompted her to come up with an initiative that would address the basic needs of babies which are diapers and milk.

“Mahirap lumunok ng kanin, tapos maiisip mo na yung iba walang kinakain, lalo yung mga baby,” thought Regacho.

Through her FB post about the Bigyan ng Gatas Yan project, friends and relatives sent packs of milk to her house, and she delivered these to mothers who would send her messages asking for milk for their kids ages one to three.

Regacho has already distributed a total of 103 to 108 packs of milk around Malabon and to this she gave her utmost gratitude to her friends and neighbors supporting her advocacy.

A bump on the road

On April 19, Regacho got involved in a motor accident while she was distributing the packs of milk along Letre Road.

She was rushed in an ambulance to the Philippine Orthopedic Hospital in Quezon City by the Malabon City Rescue Unit.

The accident resulted to a crack on her shoulder that required her to wear an arm sling, but not even the injury put a long pause to her mission.

After about 3 days of rest, donations of milk and diapers from her friends and neighbors poured out, in addition to the 20 packs given by Nuestra Señora Del Rosario Credit Cooperative through its president, Victoria Buenaventura, who also included coloring books and coloring materials for children.

Journey of the family

Regacho was supported in her advocacies not only by her husband, Alvin, but also by her daughters, Xhawn Koleen and Xean Matty.

“Kahit bata ka pwede ka tumulong,” Regacho uttered as she shared how her children helped in packing the relief goods she distributed.

She also revealed that when no donations were coming, their family would share whatever they had to provide for the needy.

Xhawn Koleen and Xean Matty also helped in her “A Book Can Save Lives” project wherein she collected books from friends and supporters and donated them to the Malabon City Library in Catmon and Hulong Duhat in summer of 2018.

In summer of 2019, she placed the books she collected in front of their house so that the kids in her community could drop by anytime, borrow the books, and be engaged in reading.

Gearing towards a new project

“Kahit sino pa ‘yan kahit ano pa ‘yan, wala kang sisinuhin. May pinag-aralan o wala, kung kailangan ng tulong, tumulong, kahit hayop pa ‘yan,” Regacho said as she talked about her future project.

Regacho revealed that after she heard the news about Malabon Zoo needing support in its maintenance, she already thought of it as her next project to ensure that the future generation would still be able to see and appreciate the animals in it.

[Read: Affected by the COVID-19 crisis, Malabon Zoo struggles to provide food for animals]

“Huwag mag-hesistate na tumulong kahit po maliit lang tayo, makakatulong tayo,” Regacho said as she encouraged everyone to look out for each other and help one another.