Christmas party lifts spirits of evacuated kids in Negros

FUN-FILLED DAY Children of evacuees displaced by the Dec. 9 eruption of Mt. Kanlaon and sheltered at the national high school in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, enjoy a day full of fun, play and food during a Christmas Day party sponsored by the Negrense Volunteers for Change Foundation. —Photo courtesy of NVC Foundation

BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines — The children were busy romping and bouncing on large inflatable slides and playing games, ignoring the blaring sirens and warnings of a possible third eruption of the nearby restive Kanlaon Volcano.

It was a Christmas Day party hosted by a Negros Occidental-based Negrense Volunteers for Change (NVC) Foundation for about 200 children of families staying in an evacuation center in La Castellana town of Negros Occidental after the Dec. 9 eruption of Mt. Kanlaon forced them to leave their homes.

The party—held at the La Castellana National High School evacuation center—also had different food stations that served cotton candy, hotdogs on sticks, popcorn, pancakes, and fries.

READ: Negros Oriental town braces for evacuees fleeing Kanlaon

Millie Kilayko, NVC president, said they chose party foods since the local government did not allow them to bring precooked food like spaghetti for safety reasons.

Of course, NVC’s signature “mingo meals”—made of rice, monggo, and malunggay that has become a convenient go-to for children in disaster relief situations—were also served and topped with marshmallows to complement the party atmosphere.

The NVC Foundation had been, in the past, organizing children’s activities in disaster relief centers, including inviting skilled volunteers to conduct psychotherapy for children who had undergone crisis challenges.

It has been among the first private groups to provide disaster relief to evacuees during the volcano’s eruptions in June and December this year.

The displaced

As of Dec. 26, a total of 11,883 families, comprising 45,526 individuals across 32 barangays in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, have been affected by the Dec. 9 eruption of Mt. Kanlaon, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported.

Of the number, 4,454 families (14,186 persons) were residing in 32 evacuation centers, while 2,185 families (6,953 individuals) were staying outside these centers, the OCD said.

So far, the government has spent P123,691,278.86 to provide for the affected families, while P364,000 has been given to the affected local governments and concerned government agencies.

Kilayko said her organization intends to shift its focus to children now that the provincial government of Negros Occidental has commenced the operation of mobile kitchens for the evacuees and the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s provision of family food packs was sufficiently distributed.

Gov. Eugenio Lacson also visited the 11 evacuation centers in La Castellana town and La Carlota City to deliver hamburgers and brought along the mascots of a popular food chain who entertained the children.

Lacson assured evacuees they had funds, including the P50 million that came from Malacañang, to address their food needs for a month.

Tent cities would also be set up to accommodate thousands more evacuees should another eruption occur, said Raul Fernandez, OCD Western Visayas head.