Tanauan, Leyte – Criselda Palamos, 36,  stood still by the door of her newly-built house. Unable to contain her happiness, she kept quiet for a while.  At last, she already has a home which she truly owns, six months after staying in a makeshift dwelling.

In this Typhoon Yolanda-battered town, 20 displaced families were initially transferred to their permanent housing units in Primetown Village, Barangay Pago on April 28.

Primetown Village is a housing project of the local government unit (LGU) in partnership with Gawad Kalinga and the National Housing Authority (NHA).

Some  1,200 identified beneficiaries will be given their own house and lot here.

Mayor Pelagio Tecson assured that  Brgy. Pago as well as Maralbi and Sakun were carefully assessed and declared safe for relocation.

He further stressed that the resettlement sites are accessible to livelihood opportunities and transportation facilities.

Criselda, a mother of three, is grateful for this blessing.

“Pagkatapos ng ‘Yolanda,  biglang nagulo ang buhay namin.  Maliban sa nawalan kami ng bahay, wala rin kaming kapera-pera at pagkain  (After Yolanda hit our town, our life was instantly turned upside down, aside from not having a house to live, we did not have a single coin for food),” she said.

The overall support of DSWD and the continuous distribution of relief goods helped Criselda and her family meet their daily food needs.

Moreover, the 10-day cash-for-work (CFW) program of DSWD and the LGU, where she participated in rebuilding community assets, helped her earn while  thinking  what livelihood to pursue next.

“Ang suporta ng pamahalaan at ng iba pang mga organisasyon ang nagsilbing lakas namin para makabangon  (The show of support from the government and other organizations gave us hope),” Josephine Villegas said, whose family also transferred to Primetown Village.

The construction of the housing project began in February with the beneficiaries  volunteering  in the building of their own units.

Mayor Tecson expects to have the 1,200 houses built until the end of November this year. ###