Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman and CEO Sen. Dick Gordon highlighted the Welfare Services, one of the major services offered by PRC, because of its impact in alleviating human suffering and uplifting the dignity of the people affected by Super Typhoon Odette.
PRC Welfare Service responds to the needs of the most vulnerable, adhering to the well-being of every individual, and most especially promoting the inherent worth and dignity of human beings. The programs and services that have been implemented focus on the proactive approaches and strategies, together with traditional reactive measures.
Since the beginning of the Typhoon Odette operation, Chairman Dick Gordon deployed the welfare services to distribute much-needed relief for the affected residents in Palawan, Visayas, and Mindanao regions.
Hot Meals on Wheels
In the immediate aftermath of any disaster, access to food is usually disrupted, with displaced families unable to prepare their food. This threatens the health, nutrition, and well-being of affected communities. The “Hot Meals on Wheels” program seeks to address this by having a fleet of food trucks that could be easily mobilized to provide food relief within 24 hours of a disaster.
PRC currently has 29 food trucks deployed in key-strategic areas nationwide ready to be deployed in times of disaster, calamity, and conflict. PRC food truck is fully-equipped with an industrial-size rice cooker, warmers, oven, and burners. It is designed to provide on-site meals and is capable of distributing 800 meals in the first eight hours of operations. As of this writing, PRC handed out ready-to-eat meals to 98, 021 individuals.
Psychosocial Support program
PRC Welfare services also offered psychosocial support to assist the community to cope and manage their stress and trauma during a disaster. Together with PRC’s trained social workers, PRC was able to provide support and care activities that will help the people during a disaster or any crisis. To date, the PRC supported 7,800 individuals.
Under this program, Children are also affected and in need of proper mental support to cope with the effects of Typhoon Odette. PRC also set up Child-Friendly Activities to support 6,146 children.
Restoring Family Links
Restoring Family Links (RFL) is a program under the welfare services offered to the affected residents who lost their loved ones due to the Typhoon. The welfare services implement activities that aim to prevent separation and disappearance, restore, and maintain contact between family members and clarify the fate of the persons reported missing due to uncertainties.
The onslaught of Typhoon Odette affected tower lines which disrupted the signal in the affected areas. Through Chairman Gordon’s initiative to restore the lifelines in the areas hit by Odette, Gordon deployed a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna, to help 61 individuals reconnect with their loved ones.
“Sa dumadami na kaso ng COVID-19 sa bansa, Hindi ko kayo papabayaan at patuloy ang Red Cross sa pagbibigay ng pag-asa sa mga apektadong lugar ng bagyong Odette. Mahalaga na maibigay natin ang basic needs n gating mga kababayan to alleviate their suffering and bigyan dignidad sila upang makatayo sa sariling mga paa,” Gordon said.
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