AS part of its commitment to the ongoing Yolanda recovery program, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) turned over 100 houses and a health facility in a relocation site built for Supertyphoon Yolanda survivors in San Remigio, Cebu.
During the ceremonial turnover on December 15, PRC Chairman and CEO Richard J. Gordon said the new houses and health facility would ensure the resilience of Supertyphoon Yolanda-affected families to future disasters.
“We did not just build houses here. We also ensured what we built would reduce the vulnerability of Yolanda survivors in the future. This is the reason we also trained them how to predict, plan, prepare and practice for any incidences,” Gordon said.
Aside from providing houses, the PRC also built a primary health-care facility. Beneficiaries in the relocation site were also given access to water and sanitation facilities, as well as livelihood opportunities, such as agriculture and microenterprise.
Aside from the turnover in San Remigio, Gordon also led the inauguration of the building and facility of the new Northern Cebu branch of the PRC.
The new branch, which is under the PRC Cebu Chapter, will bring the services of the humanitarian organization closer and more accessible to the people of Northern Cebu.
The latest Yolanda recovery project in Cebu was implemented in partnership with the Japanese Red Cross Society, French Red Cross, German Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Present during the activities were PRC Secretary-General lawyer Oscar Palabyab, International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies (IFRC) Head of Delegation Chris Staines, IFRC Operations and Programmes Manager Patrick Elliot, San Remigio town Mayor Remigio Martinez and Bogo City Mayor Jose Carlo Martinez.
For more than four years now, the PRC has been implementing its Yolanda recovery and rehabilitation program in nine provinces including Cebu.
Overall, the humanitarian organization’s Yolanda recovery program has already built 78,769 houses, 107 schools, 90 health facilities and 531 classrooms. The PRC also provided livelihoods to 62,683families and hygiene-promotion trainings to 68,456 families.
The PRC, as the foremost humanitarian organization in the country, has 103 chapters with two million volunteers nationwide who are always first, always ready and always there to provide round-the-clock humanitarian assistance, especially to the most vulnerable.
Aside from disaster responses, the other services of the Philippine Red Cross include blood, safety, welfare, health, volunteer and Red Cross youth.