The life of HIV/AIDS patient Rosa Aguirre (not her real name) of Cebu was supposed to have been extended because of the quick-acting members of the board of Kings Langley Lions Club.
An appeal initiated by Philippine Sentinel was immediately approved by the club which resulted in the donation of $250 to Miss Aguirre who was gang-raped by five drug addicts in Cebu City, Philippines. Aguirre is a total orphan who has no known siblings or relatives who can support her.
While public hospitals in the Philippines now provide free medication and hospitalisation to indigent patients, food is not included in the agenda. Ergo, Aguirre was compelled to eat dirty left-over scrap from rubbish bins of restaurants in Cebu just to satisfy her extreme hunger.
The charity project was to have been completed in coordination with Manuel Piamonte, Jr., Past District Governor of Lions Club International, District 301-B2 in Cebu. Piamonte wasted no time in contacting 11 different Lions Club chapters in Cebu, spending personal time and resources to locate Aguirre but to no avail.
As of press time, Aguirre claimed to have received PHP10,000 from unidentified sources, presumably from Lions Club but none of the 11 chapters confirmed delivery of the funds. The Kings Langley Chapter in Sydney had not even sent the money.
It has remained a mystery as to who gave Aguirre the donation. She could no longer be contacted and there is possibility that her claims were all a scam. The worst scenario is that Rosa Aguirre has succumbed to AIDS. © 2018. All rights reserved.