Operation Blessings-Phl gives 30 houses to Yolanda survivors

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines  — Operation Blessings-Philippines, in partnership with HILTI Foundation, turned over 30 houses for Yolanda survivors at the Community of Hope village at Barangay Palanog, this city.

The latest turnover of houses had brought to 50, the total number of houses already built by OB-Phils at the Community of Hope. In November last year, the organization also turned over the first batch of 20 houses for the typhoon-displaced families.

OB-Phl executive vice president and corporate operations officer, Dr. Kim April Pascual, during the turnover rites, said the organization intended to build a total of 324 houses for the Yolanda survivors in this city.

Each of the family-recipients got a 30-square meter single-detached house, with two bedrooms, a toilet and bath and a kitchen—made of HILTI Foundation’s Base Bahay’s bamboo-cement technology.

The houses are designed to be disaster-resilient that can withstand magnitude-8 earthquakes and typhoons of up to 250 kilometer per hour wind velocity.

OB-Phl started the construction of houses at the Community of Hope-Palanog Subdivision Project last year, after it acquired a 6.4-hectare lot in the barangay on December 17, 2014.

Also turned over was a Community Center building that will house a health station, a day-care center, administrative office, youth activity and recreational area, and a livelihood training area.

Inaugurated last May 26, and built in partnership with the Union Church of Manila, the Center will also serve as an evacuation center in case disaster occurs.

Beneficiaries of the housing project also underwent a character-building training sessions, community meetings, and family retreats before the turnover of their respective houses. OB-Phl believed that “it is not just we provide them with their physical needs but we envision to transform lives of every family living in the COH.”

Outgoing Mayor Alfred Romualdez and his wife, incoming Mayor-elect Cristina Romualdez, attended the turnover ceremonies of the new houses. Both of them thanked the OB-Phls, HILTI Foundation and the Union Church of Manila for helping the homeless Taclobanons get back to normal lives with their brand new houses.  (FREEMAN)