More than 60 brand new core shelters were turned over by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) to 60 indigent families whose houses were damaged by the typhoons in barangay Bajumpandan, Dumaguete City.
This project was undertaken through the government’s Core Shelter Assistance Project (CSAP). The DSWD-7 provided a P4.2 million assistance grant to buy construction supplies and materials, while the local government of Dumaguete provided the land and site development.
The 60 family beneficiaries formed themselves into a homeowners association. They are also expected to implement rules and regulations for the maintenance and operation of their village.
City Social Welfare officer Tinang Jubela said the beneficiary families were chosen after their houses were damaged by the flash floods brought about by typhoon Ondoy in 2009 and typhoon Sendong in 2011.
Around 400 individuals will benefit from the project as each of the 60 beneficiary families has an average of six to seven members.
DSWD-7 Disaster Response focal person Sheba Dabon, said the housing assistance project is not the typical dole-out grants where cash is given to the beneficiaries. In CSAP, beneficiary families will help in the construction of their houses as their counterpart.
“The DSWD infused the bayanihan element in the project implementation process so that the families will have a sense of ownership. They themselves helped in constructing their houses,” Dabon said in Cebuano.
Another 187 houses are being constructed in Siaton, Negros Oriental.