The recent typhoons that ravaged the country left survivors more vulner able to the COVID-19 virus as thousands of families were displaced and sought refuge in evacuation centers.
“Reaching out to victims of the typhoon is different this year in such a way that we need to triple our efforts because our kababayans were devastated by typhoon after typhoon right in the middle of a pandemic,” said Brian Poe Llamanzares who has been leading relief operations for the Panday Bayanihan foundation as chairman and chief executive officer.
Poe Llamanzares encourages people to keep donating and advises that the best way to go about it is to contact the local government units to find out what displaced residents need most. “In the areas we visited, there’s an outpour of donations for food and basic needs for sustenance but also a deficiency of much-needed medical supplies and protective gear,” elaborated Poe Llamanzares.
Together with his siblings Hanna and Nika, they spent the weekend at the headquarters repacking 5,000 face shields and 10,000 surgical masks which they and their friends distributed throughout Marikina City, Quezon City, as well as Rodriguez and San Mateo, Rizal. Poe Llamanzares says that one of the biggest challenges was the observance of social distancing and wearing masks in evacuation centers, which was practically impossible given the circumstances and the overflow of people.
“Now that we have survived the storm, we need to see them through the pandemic by hopefully coming up with a full recovery plan for typhoon-stricken areas,” said Poe Llamanzares who has been doing the rounds last month organizing the distribution of relief goods to Bicol, Cagayan Valley, Tuguegarao City, and Quezon Province.
Panday Bayanihan is an NGO that continues to respond to national calamities with relief efforts since it was established in 2013. Their latest efforts have been in response to Typhoon Maring that affected 2.5 million people and displaced 800,000 residents.