3,500 families in Davao del Norte, Oro get cash aid from USAID

Ruth Palo

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posted on 2 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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TAGUM, DAVAO DEL NORTE- A total of 3,500 families affected by the recent flooding and landslide incidents in Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro received cash assistance from the United States government through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Two thousand out of 3,500 families are residents of the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali, and New Corella in Davao del Norte while 1,500 are from Davao de Oro, particularly those families affected by the landslide in Barangay Masara, Maco.

USAID officials led by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance regional director Ben Hemingway and their program implementers: Catholic Relief Services and Action Against Hunger on Monday, March 11 visited key stakeholders and partner communities in the two provinces for recovery efforts and explored potential response.

The delegation also visited the intervention areas of the Davao Flooding Emergency Response implemented by the CRS Philippines and Action Against Hunger (AAH) in these provinces.

Hemingway said the US government has provided $1.25 million or P70 million in humanitarian aid to respond to the needs of communities affected by severe flooding and landslides in Mindanao.

The funding support provides immediate assistance such as food, water, sanitation, and essential hygiene items to support disaster-affected communities in Mindanao.

“Essentially the additional funding that we provided to our humanitarian partners was to ensure that affected families had access to food, water,sanitation facilities, and emergency shelters,” Hemingway said at a press conference.

He said the program will help the families recover, return to their homes, and reestablish their lives and livelihoods.

CRS Philippines, represented by Country representative Jonas Tetangco, also said that CRS and AAH received funding from USAID of about P70 million to support the affected families in the two provinces.

“We are supporting around 2,000 families in Davao del Norte who will be receiving P10,000 cash assidtance which they can use to buy whatever needs they have, it could be food and sanitation,” Tetangco said.

“This is a supplement of the support that the government is already providing,” he said.

Davao del Norte governor Edwin Jubahib, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude to the US delegation and their humanitarian partners for the assistance they provided to his constituents, which according to him is a big help for the affected families to somehow recover following devastating floods.

The same delegation also visited Nuevo Iloco National High School in Mawab, Davao de Oro where some families affected by the Masara landslide are currently taking shelter.

USAID and its partner, AAH distributed hygiene items to the beneficiaries.

AAH said 1,500 beneficiaries in this province also received P10,000 multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA).

MPCA aims to cover the immediate food and other basic humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable affected households.