Latest News #247
June 12, 2003

The following news concerns the Philippines and Singapore.

Bible Society works with Department of Health to tackle Sars

Dr Medarlo Rivera, General Secretary of the PBS, explains the content of the Scripture Selection about SARS to Dr Antonio Lopez, Department of Health Undersecretary. (PHI03DJ-4)

SINGAPORE & MANILA, Philippines — The Bible Society of Singapore and the Philippine Bible Society have both produced special Scripture Selections in response to the ongoing threat posed by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) in the region.

In the Philippines, the Bible Society has collaborated with the Department of Health to produce 100,000 copies of a leaflet containing practical information about Sars and its prevention, along with selected passages from the Bible.

A market vendor sits engrossed reading the Scripture Selection about Sars which was produced by the PBS in collaboration with the Department of Health. (PHI03DJ-5)

At a special ceremony on May 19, Bible Society General Secretary Dr Medarlo Rivera handed over 25,000 copies to representatives from the Department of Health. These will be made available free of charge to the general public through the Department of Health’s regional offices, while the other 75,000 copies will be distributed, also free of charge, via the churches and various organisations.

The Hong Kong Bible Society responded to the outbreak of Sars by taking the words of Psalm 91 as the basis for a Selection entitled Be Not Afraid, Only Believe, which is to be distributed to the general public through the churches and individual Christians (see Latest News #241). This Selection has in turn been adapted by the Bible Society of Singapore, where 32 people died from Sars between the beginning of March and the end of May.

A jeepney passenger reads the Scripture Selection about Sars which was produced by the PBS in collaboration with the Department of Health. Manila Philippines. Photo: PBS/Edna Mae Rabago (PHI03DJ-6)

With text in both English and Chinese, the adapted Selection, entitled Have Faith, Not Fear, will be posted out to churches, individual church members and para-church organisations for wider distribution. Some 15,000 copies have been produced so far, with some churches having already requested further supplies.

Singapore has now been taken off the World Health Organisation’s list of countries affected by Sars, but the Selection will act as an ongoing source of comfort while fear of the disease gradually fades. As Bible Society General Secretary Dr Lee Soo Ann writes, “we can control our fears through our faith in the God whom we should fear, not man or disease or war”.
(332 words - SARS.12.06.03)