UK Red Cross releases P9M for typhoon rehab work

MANILA, Philippines - The British Red Cross has released £104,000 (P9.004 million) from its disaster fund to assist recovery in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon "Frank" (Fengshen). A statement on the ReliefWeb site said the proceeds from the British Red Cross Disaster Fund would be used to provide emergency shelter kits for 1,500 families. "Fengshen was particularly destructive because it hit areas where typhoons are virtually unheard of, many of the houses in the area were simply not built to withstand the weather they were faced with," said Rachid Boumnijel, relief support officer for the British Red Cross. "Frank" destroyed more than 90,000 houses and damaged another 320,000 last June. It also killed almost 600 and affected up to four million people. Boumnijel said that after two months, many people are still in desperate need of support. Local authorities are struggling to provide construction materials and building expertise to everybody who needs them, which is where the Red Cross comes in, Boumnijel added. Families will be provided with a full set of construction materials, including roofing material, nails and timber, as well as tools and expert help from construction teams. "It may sound unusual to ask people to rebuild their own homes but, with the support and expertise the Red Cross is providing, it is the most effective way of making sure everyone has a roof over their heads in the shortest possible time," said Roger Bracke, head of delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Philippines. Bracke said the techniques the Red Cross is teaching people are typhoon-proof so these homes people are building for themselves will provide their families with secure shelter for years. The Philippine Red Cross will implement the program on the ground. It carried out a similar successful shelter program following typhoon Durian in 2006. The British Red Cross Disaster Fund grant will be administered through an appeal by the International Federation of the Red Cross for £4 million to address the shelter and sanitation needs of 6,000 families affected by the typhoon, along with the establishment of disease prevention programs and a typhoon early warning system. Bracke said this grant from the British Red Cross is critical since many donors have been reluctant so far to provide their usual support. He noted many donors calculated there are still early days in the 2008 Typhoon season which lasts until the very end of the year. "But how can we explain to a family who have lost all their belongings that we can't support the reconstruction of their home simply because it was destroyed too early in the season? The target beneficiaries are really the poorest of the poor and are in extreme need of our support. With this grant we can now help another 1,500 families and that is excellent news," he said. - GMANews.Tv