In response to the recent disaster in the Philippines, Dominique Lemay, Virlanie Foundation’s Founder and President, had a 4-day initial visit to Capiz, a province located in Panay Island, from 16-19 November 2013 to provide relief goods and assess the situation of the families affected by the Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). Capiz is one of the 44 provinces badly hit by the typhoon which affected 144,710 families (or 692,071 persons) and killed 54 people as per National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s (NDRRMC) update on 21 November 2013.
Typhoon Yolanda entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility on 06 November 2013 and made its first landfall over Guiuan, Eastern Samar on 8 November. It moved further and made a landfall over Leyte, Cebu, Iloilo, and Palawan on the same day and affected more than 2 million families (or more than 10 million people) in the Philippines. According to NDRRMC, there were at least 4011 individuals reported dead, 18, 567 injured, and 1,602 people still missing.
A team from Kalipay Negrense Foundation, a partner organization of Virlanie, accompanied Dominique during the visit and witnessed the devastation in the province. The debris in the roads has been cleared however, most of the structures and the homes has to be rebuilt.
Dominique and Kalipay distributed essential commodities such as food (ie. bread, noodles, sardines, coffee, milk powder) and medicines (ie. aspirin, povidone iodine, anti-diarrhea) to the families. They also gave 800 liters worth mineral water to 400 families since they still do not have access to safe and clean drinking water. Families who were completely isolated between Panitan and Pilan in Northern Capiz were given tarp shelters.
“We passed by a landscape which seemed to be the end of the world. Everything has been destroyed: trees toppled in the middle of the road and electric and telephone lines fell along with the posts. We wondered where houses were as only a few pieces of wood left. We’re very sad about what we’ve seen and we realized that the nature can be very cruel – it can take everything it gave us in an instant,” said Dominique.
Thank you very much for those who have sent messages of support, for the trust and valuable support in the foundation. Our efforts for the affected families will not be possible without your generous contributions.
Please help us give back more smiles to the children and families affected by the typhoon as well as the children from our Residential Program and various Outreach Programs.
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