132 Iloilo families who survived Yolanda to get houses from Caritas

Some 132 families that survived Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Iloilo may get new houses this week, with help from the Catholic Church's social action arm Caritas.

 

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said the houses are in the Caritas Village in Barangay Malayu-an in Ajuy, Iloilo.

 

Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo will lead an 8 a.m. Mass on July 29 before the houses are blessed and turned over to the beneficiaries.

 

Yolanda tore through the Visayas in November 2013, leaving more than 6,300 dead in its wake.

 

Dubbed the “Caritas Village,” the housing project has 66 duplex houses built on 1.6 hectares of land in Barangay Malayu-an.

 

It has a road network, a water system, a children’s playground, a multi-purpose building, and a basketball court.

 

The housing project also offers livelihood programs and ecosystems.

 

Jaro Archdiocesan Action Center director Msgr. Meliton Oso said the project was a joint effort with Caritas Austria through Caritas Internationalis, NASSA/Caritas, Philippines, and the Jaro Archdiocese.

 

Direct recipients of the houses are 132 families whose houses were destroyed and were not allowed to rebuild their houses within 40 meters of a “no-build zone” and have agreed to be relocated.

 

Oso said these families were “the most in need but the least served.”

 

“It is important to help families regain their livelihood and make their communities function again. We cannot allow these people to be reduced to mendicancy,” he said.

 

Other areas in Iloilo affected by Yolanda include Estancia, Concepcion, Janiuay, Barotac Viejo, Carles, Batad, San Dionisio, San Rafael, Balasan, and Sara. — Joel Locsin/ALG, GMA News