Private sector, gov’t help Yolanda survivors find jobs

CEBU, Philippines - Recognizing that livelihood is the most sustainable aid for calamity survivors, the government and the private sector are joining hands in helping Yolanda survivors find jobs.

Regan King, head of the disaster coordinating committee of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said they are sending the profiles and qualifications of residents of the Tent City to possible employers.

The profiles are those of the 17 families that have expressed interest to stay and build a future in Cebu.

“We are blasting the profile of 17 individuals who intended to stay in Cebu. Our member companies are trying to help them find job here. Four companies are actively finding work for them,” King said.

Fifty-six families from Eastern Visayas are being accommodated at the Family Rehabilitation Center at the South Road Properties (SRP), which is being run with the help of the Philippine Red Cross, the city government, and the private sector. 

The government, for its part, has laid down the cash for work program where calamity survivors are provided with financial aid through temporary livelihood.

The program intends to discourage dole outs and to make the recipients work for the money that the government will be giving them to makes ends meet for their families.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development is the implementing agency of the cash for work program.

Jennifer Quimno, Community Driven Enterprise Development officer of Sustainable Livelihood Program of DSWD, said that of the P58.854 million budget for Yolanda victims in northern Cebu, Bantayan town has already received its share of P5.287 million.

This was distributed when President Benigno Aquino III visited the calamity-hit area on February 25.

Recipients in northern Cebu identified by DSWD for cash for work reached 15,056 beneficiaries.

DSWD also allocated P12 million for survivors of the October 15 magnitude 7.5 earthquake also for the cash for work program. There are 1,212 recipients from Bohol, the place most badly hit by the earthquake.

Cash for work is a 15-day program in which beneficiaries are given money in exchange for work rendered, the nature of which depends on the prevalent livelihood and minimum wage in the area.  (FREEMAN)