Volunteers heed Mandaue’s call for help

CEBU, Philippines - More volunteers are flocking to the national repacking center at the Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City.

The national office of the Department Social Welfare and Development and Technical Education, Skills and Development Authority established Thursday afternoon the biggest government repacking center at the CICC for typhoon victims in northern Cebu towns and neighboring provinces of Leyte and Samar.

As of 2 pm yesterday, records showed there were 1,529 volunteers. TESDA Secretary Joel Villanueva who personally supervised the  operation said they still need at least 300 volunteers per four-hour shift  to achieve the target of 50,000 to 100,000 packs a day or 1,200 packs per hour.

The formula in repacking is three kilos of  rice, five cans of sardines, and another five cans of beef loaf.

The city government yesterday called for volunteers for the repacking work at CICC.

As a result many city hall employees heeded the call.

“I am not only amazed but in awe about the willingness of Cebuanos to extend a helping hand in this calamity,” Villanueva said.

According to Villanueva their main purpose here is to setup a system in the repacking, mobilize volunteers, and produce outputs as much as we can in order for us to reach out to Tacloban, Leyte, and the northern parts of Cebu.

Manang Manolita Dagil, 63 years old from Subangdaku, Mandaue City volunteered and does not expect anything in return.

“Nalipay ko kay nakatabang ko. (I am happy because I have extended help),” she said.

Some students also used their break time to repack provisions instead of going to malls or hanging out with friends, according to Mandaue News Service. (FREEMAN)