The Negrense Volunteers for Change Foundation, a Bacolod based NGO, is turning over home repair sets composed of GI sheets, marine plywood, lumber and nails to 100 Bago City, Negros Occidental, families whose houses were devastated by Typhoon “Tino” on Friday, Nov. 21.
The week ends with 148 home repair kits turned over by NVC with the foundation expected to turn over double its initial donation in the coming week.
This marks the second of NVC’s 3-pronged disaster response which is composed of RELIEF (immediate provision of food and hygiene supplies to the disaster stricken), REBUILD (provide materials to repair damaged or replace totally wrecked houses) and RESTORE (help restore livelihoods compromised or lost due to disaster), its president Millie Kilayko said on Wednesday.
NVC has received donations totaling P4,396,570 in cash and P177,000 in kind as of Wednesday for the Typhoon “Tino” victims.
NVC sent response teams to typhoon afflicted areas of Cebu and Negros Occidental less than 24 hours after the typhoon struck. It has provided food and hygiene supplies in 22 sites in La Carlota, La Castellana, Isabela, Pontevedra, Bago, San Enrique and Moses Padilla in Negros Occidental and five sites in Liloan and Talisay, Cebu, a report from the foundation showed.
The NVC “grocery” for the typhoon victims*Aeson Baldevia photos
NVC has also been turning over relief goods at its signature “grocery without a cashier at the end” , where the recipients walk through their display and pick what they need, Kilayko said.
She said “the purpose is two pronged. First is provides the recipient with the dignity of choice, versus just receiving a pack of goods in a bag not even knowing if items inside are fit for them. Second, the system helps NVC respond faster because they no longer need to spend a day repacking the goods. The goods are displayed, in their own cases, at the grocery line.”
NVC has also been giving stuffed toys to children whenever they respond to disasters because studies show that children who have undergone stressful experiences in cases like disasters, need a huggable toy to help them cope with their fears, Kilayko said.
While some donors send money for NVC to purchase stuffed toys, many shared pre-loved ones, usually handpicked by their own first-user children who are taught lessons in sharing, she said.*