Press Release
January 29, 2007

Red Cross brings relief in Marinduque and Catanduanes

Thousands of families in typhoon-affected communities in Marinduque and Catanduanes received relief assistance from the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) Friday. Part of this assistance came from the donation of US$50,000 from the US Agency for International Aid (USAID).

Led by PNRC chairman Richard Gordon, the PNRC team from Manila arrived at 9 am in Marinduque where the first distribution took place. All the families who were given assistance have lost their homes at the height of the typhoon and come from the poorest of the poor.

One of them was Celestino Lingon, 80, a walis tingting vendor whose house caved during the typhoon. We had to evacuate when our wooden walls started to tilt due to the heavy rains, he said in Filipino. It took my family several weeks to rebuild our house; the four of us helped one another.

Like the other beneficiaries, Lingon received a can of nutritional supplement Sustagen, hygiene kit, water container, two sets of blankets, sleeping mats and mosquito nets from the PNRC. According to Gordon, they will come back to Marinduque to distribute two weeks of food supply to the same families.

The Red Cross will continue to help you, but you also have to learn how to help yourselves, Gordon told the beneficiaries, some of whom began lining up at the Boac Town Plaza as early as 6:30 am . You have to work hard to regain what youve lost in the typhoon, and I mean not just your homes but also your dignity.

From Marinduque the PNRC team flew to the island of Catanduanes aboard a C-130 cargo plane. At 1:30 pm , the team arrived at the Cabugao School of Handicraft and Cottage Industry where almost 1,100 families were already waiting. The local Red Cross chapter assisted in the relief operation.

Over 600 families received non-food items, while almost 500 received both non-food items and food including 15 kilos of rice, canned food, noodles, mongo, salt and sugar. This was based on the previous needs assessment conducted by the PNRC in the region.

Theres a good Chinese proverb that goes something like: You have to work if you want to eat, said Gordon to the beneficiaries. I know the people of Catanduanes are used to natural calamities, but you must not get used to relying on NGOs like the Red Cross coming to your aid, and instead prepare and work hard to offset the tragic consequences of disasters.

Aside from future relief operations, the PNRC will also begin a housing project for over 1,200 families as well as the construction of a blood bank in Catanduanes.

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