“Maraming salamat sa pagbalik niyo dito sa Jipapad! Mga bayani kayo para sa amin!”
“Salamat hin madamo kay makakakaon na kami!”
These are the sentiments of the beneficiaries of DSWD’s second wave of relief distributions at Jipapad, Eastern Samar.
Recently, from December 9-12, DSWD staff conducted a second wave of relief distributions. With the help of the Department of Public Works and Highways, DSWD was able to transport additional relief items from the Regional Resource Operations Section in Tacloban to Jipapad. DSWD staff from the Disaster Response Management Division conducted the distribution straight to the beneficiaries.
As of December 13, a total of 2,359 families have already been served. Aside from family food packs (FFPs), DSWD also distributed nonfood items, including blankets, mosquito nets and mats.
During the distribution, DSWD medics also provided first-aid care to a beneficiary who was injured on site. This is an application of DSWD’s recent training (see https://fo8.dswd.gov.ph/2018/12/dswd-staff-first-aid-trained/).
These distributions are part of DSWD’s commitment to provide quick and efficient service to the public. According to Project Development Officer Juel Ramos, “The recent distributions were very successful. I’m glad that we were able to help these people, especially the ones who haven’t had anything to eat.”
Each family food pack contains 6 kilos of rice, 4 cans of corned beef, 4 cans of beef loaf and 6 sachets of coffee. DSWD would like to inform the public that these relief items are not for sale.
On November 21, tropical depression Samuel made landfall in Eastern Visayas. The rains brought by the storm caused massive flooding in Jipapad, which was described by the residents as the worst flooding in the history of the town. In only two hours, the water rose to the second storey of most houses. A few days after the flooding, the residents of barangay Magsaysay conducted a pre-emptive evacuation, since the area was prone to landslides. Last November 23-25, DSWD staff conducted its first wave of relief distribution. (see https://fo8.dswd.gov.ph/2018/11/dswd-distributes-relief-at-jipapad/)
