On May 24, 2020 to celebrate the 5th year anniversary of Laudato Si’, Perkumpulan Darma Laksana with Carmelite students distributed daily needs to poor families in Malang. As in countries around the world, the covid-19 pandemic has heavily affected the economy of Indonesia. Many factories are closed and blue-collar workers from these factories have lost their jobs. These workers were paid very low wages. Because of their low wages they were unable to have savings. The covid-19 pandemic makes it very difficult for workers and their families to survive. Many families now are starving because they have no money to buy food. Carmelite students were moved by the situation and organized themselves to do small acts to help their neighbors cope with the situation. The students are supported by the Indonesian Carmelite NGO to do small acts of charity. Working with local grocery stores and local donors, the students purchased food items that households use daily. These items include rice, sugar, cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, and noodles. The students made packages of these items and distributed the packages to the poor families living around our Carmelite NGO house in Sidorahayu, a slum suburban of Malang.
