16 houses turned over to Sendong victims in NegOr

SIXTEEN houses were turned over to the victims of typhoon Sendong at the Caritas Village Shelter Project in barangay Bajumpandan, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental.

The ceremony was led by former Archbishop of the Diocese of Dumaguete and now Palo Archbishop John Du, who was assisted by Dumaguete City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria.

In his message during the blessing and turnover, Archbishop Du, said he was grateful to the church and local leaders for continuing what was started before he left – the building of houses for the flood victims.

“To build a community is difficult than to build a house, but with prayers and strong cooperation, the responsibilities will be done,” Du said.

The 16 houses are the second batch of housing units for the families whose houses were totally destroyed during typhoon Sendong in December.

The housing project is a joint undertaking of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-National Secretariat for Social Action (CBCP-NASSA), Caritas, and the local government of Dumaguete City, which planned to build 150 housing units.

In May, the first 12 houses were awarded to the beneficiaries in the area.

These houses sit on a 5,000 sq.m. lot donated by the city government for the building of 58 houses.

Sagarbarria committed to provide another lot for the remaining 92 housing units to be managed by the Dumaguete Diocese.