by Isolde D. Amante and Katlene O. Cacho
Published in Sun Star Cebu on January 14, 204 (Full article HERE)
Click HERE to go to the Roof for Relief Facebook Page
A PRIVATE sector-led effort to put roofs over 5,000 houses damaged by typhoon Yolanda in northern Cebu has met its target, with 477 roofs to spare.
Gawad Kalinga, The Islands Group and LH Foundation, Inc. acknowledged yesterday the donors who helped them raise P18.25 million in less than two months, enough to put roofs over 5,477 houses, in their Roof for Relief program.
But while delivering a last batch of roofing materials over the weekend, Toby Florendo, head of partnerships for Gawad Kalinga in Cebu, said he realized the need “to continue the spirit of volunteerism.”
Florendo narrated how he and a team of volunteers endured a ferry ride from Bantayan Island that took more than two hours, instead of the usual 40 minutes.
“It was raining hard, it was wet, it was cold,” Florendo recalled.
“We realized, going home in those conditions, that we’re not yet done. These conditions were temporary for us…But more than 70,000 families are going through this, getting wet, getting cold, getting sick, and they will go through this tomorrow and maybe for the next few months.”
Roof for Relief received donations and pledges from 269 individuals and organizations, Florendo said in a press conference yesterday. They delivered roofing materials to 5,020 households in 11 barangays, all in northern Cebu.
Compassion
Jonathan Jay Aldeguer, president and chief executive officer of The Islands Group, recalled that the program grew from the relief efforts he and Edmun Liu, president of LH Foundation, Inc., organized in response to the earthquake that struck Bohol and Cebu last Oct. 15.
They decided to work with Gawad Kalinga, whose work in #BangonSugBohol Aldeguer described as “very organized” and anchored on “a keen understanding of and compassion for the community.”
After Yolanda struck last Nov. 8, Aldeguer recalled, they anticipated that while so many rushed to provide food, water and other relief goods, “the housing aspect of the crisis may have been overlooked.”
“Building permanent homes seemed far-fetched but providing roofs was doable,” he added.
>> Read more about Operation Walang Iwanan: Typhoon Yolanda
Florendo said they implemented Roof for Relief using the “walang iwanan” principle of Gawad Kalinga, a campaign developed to promote “bayanihan” or the willingness to help others in one’s community. (Loosely translated, “walang iwanan” means “no one gets left behind.”)
He said they picked barangays where more than 80 percent of the population would not be able to afford rebuilding their homes and where at least 80 percent of the population was affected.
Read full article HERE.
Click HERE for the full list of Roof for Relief donors and partners
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Operation Walang Iwanan: Typhoon Yolanda is ongoing. You too can help rebuild the homes and the lives of those affected by the typhoon. Click HERE to find out how you can help.