October 29, 2015 – Tacloban City. “This donation is a gift and an offer of friendship from the people of Nigeria to the Filipino people”, thus said His Excellency Ambassador Buba Tekune who came with DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman and Senior Counsellor Murtala Jimoh of the Embassy of Nigeria for the Inauguration Ceremony of the Water Supply Support (provision of potable water by setting up ten 5,000 liter water tanks, on-site water source development, water filtration and rain harvesting) for typhoon Yolanda-affected families at the Ridgeview Park, Cabalawan, north of this city.

The project was made possible through the donation of the Nigerian government and is a joint undertaking of the DSWD and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

To the Ambassador, Secretary Soliman said, “Ambassador, we thank the Nigerian people through you for the friendship and the solidarity that you have provided.” She also told the crowd present, “It is not because the Nigerian people have extras. It is because of friendship and solidarity that they have provided and donated US $300,000, equivalent to P14-M, and this was what we used for the tanks and water filtration. This will provide for the medium term solution to the water problem for all who will move in to this Ridgeview area.”

Secretary Dinky continued, “But what is most important is a long term solution to your water problem, and not just medium term. And just like Mayor Romualdez and his council and with Vice Mayor Yaokasin, we would also like it this way. And we, in the national government, through Secretary Arcenio Balisacan, the head of NEDA, we are making a plan and will dialogue with ADB so that they will fund for the improvement of your water district in Tacloban. We will have a Local Inter-Agency Committee (LIAC) meeting later for the details of the project. It is important for all of you to know that we would like to make this a beautiful place, and to make it better than what you had in the past. So that this may be a key to a much more progressive life in Tacloban”.

Secretary Dinky also told everyone present that when all the houses will be ready for occupancy, we will have to close the bunkhouses at IPI and NHA and other transitional shelters.

Meanwhile, DSWD F08 Assistant Regional Director for Operations (ARDO) Resty Macuto happily announced that the 77 families who were the first ones to occupy the units will now be able to safely drink water from their faucets. They will also have electricity before Christmas.

In addition, Secretary Soliman told the residents of Ridgeview Park what Ambassador Tekune has shared to her on the plane on the way from Manila to Tacloban.   “He has seen many nations that have been devastated by typhoons, and has cited an island in the Caribbean as an example, which was flattened by a huge storm. After two years, one still sees evidences that a huge storm has passed through. Here, if he wasn’t told that Yolanda passed by this place, he would not think that a super typhoon hit this part of the Philippines. It’s as if he cannot believe that Tacloban was flattened by Haiyan, as well, when we arrived in Tacloban on November 9. I would like to congratulate you all for your industriousness, for your oneness, Tacloban is indeed developing and growing.”

In closing the Secretary said, “Your Christmas will be beautiful and bright since you will now have water and electricity very soon.”