By Jel Santos
Over 80, 000 houses were built by the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and Red Crescent Movement partners six years after Super Typhoon Yolanda devastated several areas in Visayas.
Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair Senator Richard Gordon (Manila Bulletin)
Richard Gordon, PRC chairman, said that they built a total of 80, 207 houses in Leyte including Ormoc City, Western and Eastern Samar, Cebu, Capiz, Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, and Palawan.
“We must learn from Yolanda. Dapat walang bahay sa shoreline, dapat lahat ng building nasa tamang lugar, wala sa fault line. Dapat alam ng mga tao kung anong gagawin kapag may kalamidad, ano dapat na aksyon upang hindi na maulit ang ganitong trahedya (We must learn from Yolanda. There should be no house near the shoreline; all buildings must be constructed at designated areas, not at fault lines. People should know what to do when a calamity strikes, and what are the appropriate action that should be taken in order for such tragedy not to occur again),” Gordon said in a statement.
Gordon bragged that “PRC was the only organization to be able to build houses which were accounted for, donors can see where their houses are, who lives in there. We can produce a list.”
Moreover, PRC said that cash livelihood assistance was granted to 62,676 households while livelihood trainings were provided to 15,985 individuals.
Based on the data of the humanitarian organization, 90,779 families were given cash assistance in the early recovery program and a total of P281, 529, 400 was distributed from December 2013 to March 2014.
Since Nov. 8, 2013 until March 30, 2014, PRC provided food items to 390, 399 families or 1, 951, 995 individuals.
Meantime, it handed non-food items such as plastic mats, sleeping items, water containers tarpaulins and kitchens to 258, 972 families.
Gordon said “he PRC was among the first responders on the ground. Ceaseless efforts were made in reaching inaccessible areas to not only provide relief items, but also clearing pathways and main road networks from debris. Psychosocial support was also provided to ensure the overall health and well-being of the affected communities. During the first three months, families were provided with essential items such as hygiene kits, jerry cans, and sleeping kits.”
“We are recognized as one of the best Red Cross societies in the world because in Haiyan (Yolanda), we demonstrated that we could gather aid from almost all the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies worldwide and distribute them into different provinces. The Haiyan (Yolanda) experience reinforced the Red Cross as a go-to organization and the preferred partner of choice since PRC was able to get the job done,” the PRC chairman ended.
In 2013, Super Typhoon Yolanda devastated several areas in Visayas, rendering many people homeless and a lot of people died.