Yolanda victims continue to get foreign aid

CEBU, Philippines — The France-Philippines United Action (FPUA) Foundation has poured in infrastructure projects in northern Cebu, which was battered by Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) on November 8, 2013.

The projects include a multi-purpose center and 48 houses in the rehabilitation site in Barangay Cayang, Bogo City.

The center, which was inaugurated Tuesday by FPUA President Philippe Gauthier, will serve as a community development center and evacuation center for the local community.

Aside from Bogo projects, Gauthier said, the foundation also constructed over 200 disaster-resilient houses in two different relocation sites in Daanbantayan town.

The beneficiaries are 1,200 families who are all Yolanda victims.

The projects serve as the commitment of the French Embassy and the Philippine business communities in relief and rehabilitation, capacity-building and disaster risk reduction.

The FPUA was created in 2013 by a group of French companies led by Don Lee, President of Lafarge, with the support of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI France-Philippines) and the Embassy of France in the Philippines.

Initially, the FPUA served as a coordination and communication structure to facilitate the relief and humanitarian programs of the French business community in the Philippines following the destruction caused by Typhoon Yolanda.

In 2015, following the visit of then-French President François Hollande, the FPUA became the Foundation of CCI France-Philippines with the objective of continuing its mission and promoting long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction projects in the Philippines for the victims of natural disasters.

The foundation advocates building sustainable and resilient communities in the Philippines through housing rehabilitation, health and child welfare. (FREEMAN)