LUCENA CITY — The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) conducted therapy sessions with children on October 4 in the towns in Quezon province that were hit by supertyphoon “Karding” (international name: Noru), the agency said in a statement Thursday, October 6.
The PRC said trained staff and volunteers facilitated “child-friendly activities designed as psychological first aid (PFA)” for 171 boys and girls in the village of Bonbon in the island town of Panukulan off the Pacific Ocean to help them cope with the trauma brought by Karding whent it struck Luzon on September 25.
At least 38 other older individuals also availed of the PFA session, the PRC said. The statement did not provide details on the ages of all the beneficiaries of the sessions.
The PRC also delivered corrugated galvanized iron sheets and plain sheets to replace the damaged roofs of Burdeos National High School in neighboring Burdeos town.
The agency explained that the PFA and the delivery of relief materials were upon the directive of PRC chairman Richard Gordon “to focus recovery activities on schools and livelihood of farmers and fisherfolk affected by the typhoon.”
“The education of our youth must not be allowed to wait because of any delay in the restoration of school facilities, especially in isolated areas,” Gordon said in the PRC statement.
The agency said they also brought 320 hygiene kits, 200 tarpaulins, 360 10-liter jerry cans, and sacks of rice for distribution to the most vulnerable households in the typhoon-ravaged Polillo island.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) report showed that 20,986 families composed of 80,675 individuals were displaced during the onslaught of Karding.
At least 15,525 families or 61,565 individuals are from the province’s 1st district, including the five island towns in northern Quezon facing the Pacific Ocean: Polillo, Burdeos, Panukulan, Jomalig, and Patnanungan.
An estimated 12,389 houses in the province were destroyed and damaged by Karding, the PDRRMO said.
According to its assessment, 2,863 houses were totally destroyed and 9,526 houses were damaged.