The Philippine Red Cross deployed  M/V Amazing Grace to Catandunes Wednesday to provide the much-needed relief and assistance to victims of typhoon “Rolly.”

PRC chairman and chief executive officer Sen. Richard Gordon led the send-off ceremony for the ship which was commissioned by the PRC in 2017 when the country’s foremost humanitarian organization celebrated its 70th founding anniversary.

Gordon said that the M/V Amazing Grace, formerly owned by Matanuska-Susitna Borough from Alaska, was acquired to serve as an ambulance and disaster response ship to effectively perform the PRC’s humanitarian work in the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific.

The PRC, Gordon said, has always been about alleviating human suffering, bringing them not only essentials but also hope. “As the M/V Amazing Grace delivers to Catanduanes, it is a message that there is deliverance from despair through the mercy of God and through the thousands of people who are with the survivors of typhoon Rolly,” he said. “We are in this together,” he added.

M/V Amazing Grace, the country’s first and only humanitarian vessel, is bringing non-food items for the affected families and communities such as hygiene kits, blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, 10-liter and 20-liter jerry cans, galvanized iron (GI) sheets for roofing, and kitchen sets.

It is also bringing additional vehicles such as mini vans and Willy jeeps to be used for assessing the situation in the area and the delivery of services.

Gordon noted that the M/V Amazing Grace’s deployment to Catanduanes is PRC’s first humanitarian deployment. “We will continue to help our fellowmen in the province until they are fully recovered and stable again,” he explained.

The Red Cross, Gordon stressed, is not “only here to give food and emergency aid, but most importantly, we want to help the people restore their dignity once again and get their lives back on track.” He hopes that the “Amazing Grace” becomes a symbol of “hope for our people.”