Rome (NEV / Riforma.it), March 29, 2020 – In recent days, approximately 180 thousand masks were distributed for free to Roman citizens by some Chinese Evangelical Christian churches. These include the Chinese Evangelical Christian church in via Assisi, affiliated with the Baptist Evangelical Christian Union of Italy (UCEBI) since 1996.
The masks were purchased by the evangelical brothers and sisters in China and were shipped to Italy, where they were then assembled in packs of ten and distributed free of charge at the premises of the Chinese churches in Rome. In the area of Piazza Vittorio and surroundings, the Chinese evangelicals even delivered them at home, inserting them in the mailboxes of several buildings. Masks have also been distributed to hospitals and nursing homes.
In the packages carefully prepared in the churches’ premises, a sheet was also inserted together with the masks which reported- in Italian and Chinese – the Christian motivation behind the distribution: “We are united with the Italian people, we fight together against this epidemic. We support the Italians! Jesus said: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39) and “…do to others what you would them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).
Until Friday 20 March, in Via della Cisternola, in the Prenestina area, there was a continuous bustle to receive the masks: Chinese and Italian people, a car of the firefighters, an ambulance of the Italian Medical Cross. Three members of the Chinese church, leaning out a low wall with gloves, masks and protective suits, distributed masks to the people in line (with the recommendation to keep the safety distances). Pastor Jin, who leads the community, estimates that he distributed an average of 1,000 packs per day which, for 10 pieces per pack, would make 40 thousand masks in a week: a considerable figure even in the great need of these emergency days. Five thousand pieces were delivered to a nursing home that had requested them.
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