ReliefWeb

By Oliver T. Baccay

PENABLANCA, Cagayan, Feb. 21 (PIA) -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 2 and the local government unit of Penablanca recently awarded 110 core shelter units amounting to P7.7 million to families left homeless due to typhoons and other natural calamities in Barangay Quibal, this town.

Angely Lubo-Mercado, information officer, said each core shelter unit costs P70,000 per family beneficiary while the location site, engineering supervision, site development, and graveling of road to core shelter site are provided by the local government unit and to be augmented by the provincial government.

“Recipients of these core shelter units are families whose houses were totally blown down or damaged by natural calamities,” Mercado said.

The core shelter units, she assured, are structurally-strong and environment-friendly which could withstand 180 to 220 kilometer per hour wind, intensity four earthquakes, flooding, and other similar hazards.

It is a rehabilitation and mitigation strategy that uses work teams composed of the beneficiaries themselves to provide labor for the construction of their houses.

In her message, Social Welfare Regional Director Violeta Cruz encouraged the beneficiaries to love their homes, safeguard their community against crime, and ensure that there would be no violence in every home.

Cruz also emphasized that each family beneficiaries should become responsive, mindful, and caring towards their neighbors.

“The success of this project lies in your hands, therefore, together, let us help sustain the project and let us work hard to make this site become a model community for CSAP in Penablanca, Cagayan,” Cruz said.

Moreover, core shelter beneficiaries are organized into Neighborhood Association for Shelter Assistance, an association of the core shelter beneficiaries which promotes collective action in realizing the goals of the project.

The association also addresses the vulnerabilities of the community while empowering beneficiaries to make the core shelter liveable and more sustainable.

In Region 2, DSWD has already awarded 9,269 core shelter units to thousands of homeless families who are mostly victims of typhoons, flooding, and other natural calamities. (OTB-PIA 2)