Aid continues to pour in for ‘Yolanda’ survivors
ILOILO CITY—Private donors and organizations continue to pour in assistance to survivors of last year’s Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Panay as communities await the implementation of the government’s rehabilitation and recovery master plan.
The nongovernment organization Save the Children has awarded a total of P8.3 million in cash grants for livelihood projects and economic enterprises to typhoon-devastated communities in Iloilo and Capiz provinces.
The grants, given to 34 community associations with an average of 60 members per association, would benefit about 2,800 survivors, according to a statement from Save the Children.
The beneficiaries include survivors in Estancia, Concepcion, San Dionisio, Batad and Carles towns in Iloilo, and Pilar town in Capiz.
These areas were among the worst hit by Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), which struck on Nov. 8 last year and packed winds of up to 300 kilometers per hour.
Communities were left homeless and without livelihood after fishing boats and gears, crops and trees were devastated.
President Aquino has yet to sign the P170.9-billion master plan for rehabilitation and recovery, which was submitted early this month by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery headed by former Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
The cash grant is part of a comprehensive livelihood program that also includes capacity-building training on finance and project management, group conflict resolution and disaster risk reduction for fisheries.
The livelihood projects to be funded include the construction and deployment of artificial reefs, green mussel and oyster culture, hog raising and vegetable production, crab fattening and fish cage provision for fishing gears and seaweed farming.
Kyaw Oo Maung, Save the Children program manager, said the challenge in providing opportunities to the survivors was not due to lack of skills, knowledge, market, labor or training but mainly due to lack of finances to restart businesses and restore the means of livelihood of residents.
Aside from Save the Children, other bodies and organizations also helped in the livelihood project, including the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, and Dutch Cooperating Aid Agencies.
