No holiday break for volunteers

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines—Volunteers from Del Monte Philippines will continue to bring aid to survivors of Tropical Storm “Sendong” through the holiday season.

“We will take no break this Christmas. There is so much to do to help those who were affected by Sendong,” said Manny Nisperos, Mindanao Operations Group Head of Del Monte Phils Inc.

The volunteers are employees from the company’s pineapple cannery in barangay Bugo, some 20 kilometers from the flooded areas of the city; camp residents; and children of Del Monte employees who are on their school break.  They were among the first to lend comfort and bring food to affected families on Dec. 17.

Since the first day of the flood, Del Monte had deployed four mobile teams of about 5-10 volunteers each, conducting daily relief missions in barangays Consolacion, Macanhan, Carmen, Balulang, Kauswagan and Macasandig, it said in a press statement.

Among the team’s first beneficiaries were some 100 of the company’s own employees, many of whom had been relocated to provided proper temporary accommodate aside from food, medicines, clothes and beddings.