For the benefit of newborns and mothers in the Philippines, the Members Church of God International (MCGI) took part in a simultaneous breastfeeding activity in 1,000 key points nationwide on October 24 this year.
Gathering a total of 35,749 mother-child pairs, the data from the organizers showed that it already surpassed the 2007 Guinness World Record for simultaneous breastfeeding in multiple sites. Guinness is yet to make an official announcement after three weeks of careful audit of records and adherence to its guidelines.
The mass breastfeeding has Nurturers of the Earth as organizer, together with MCGI and UNTV, in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record with the most number of breastfeeding mothers in multiple sites.
Coinciding with the mass breastfeeding is the celebration of the radio-television religious program, Ang Dating Daan’s 33rd anniversary.
MCGI is known for supporting social welfare and life-saving advocacies. The mass breastfeeding, which promote awareness among Filipina mothers regarding the same’s health benefits, is just one.
MCGI is also a strong supporter of the quarterly mass blood donation drives by the Philippine Red Cross and Philippine Blood Society.
“Coinciding with the 33rd anniversary of Ang Dating Daan, this is one way for us to support them,” said Bro. Daniel Razon, the Vice-Presiding Minister to MCGI. “Given that breastfeeding is beneficial to our children as it gives them protection against diseases that proliferate in our environment, we decided to cooperate with (Nurturers of the Earth) and mobilize 1,000 of our sites,”
The Nurturers of the Earth and the Children for Breastfeeding have proven to be passionate in their efforts to promote their breastfeeding advocacy.
In 2006, these two advocacy groups were able to gather 3,541 nursing mother-child pairs in Manila and the year after, a total of 15,128 pairs in 295 sites across the country.
In their efforts, they earned two Guinness World Records: the Simultaneous Breastfeeding in a Single Site and the Guinness World Record for Simultaneous Breastfeeding in Multiple Sites, respectively.
Alongside this nationwide breastfeeding program, Church members throughout the Philippines have also organized clean-up drives and tree-planting activities in commemoration of the anniversary of Ang Dating Daan
Bro. Eli Soriano, the Presiding Minister to MCGI, is the host of what is now the longest-running religious program in the country.
(Words b Emmy Borromeo)