Ormoc Tzu Chi village to build additional facilities

ORMOC CITY, Leyte, Jan. 5 (PNA) -- Tzu Chi foundation has realized the need of providing easier access to early education as well as adding government basic facilities for beneficiaries, having seen the rising population of Tzu Chi housing village residents at the Codilla Land.

Engr. Violeta Codilla, foundation member, disclosed this progress during the recent third moving-in ceremony for 100 families, who were informal settlers coming from coastal areas and transitional shelters.

Codilla said that essential facilities, like day care and three-in-one (health, social and police) centers are to be built in the village within the year. In this way, the mothers may find ways of helping their husbands earn a living but keeping their young learners close to them.

The new occupants that recently transferred to the housing village received goods and supplies from the foundation led by Alfred Li, chief executive officer (CEO) as they were welcomed by the old dwellers in a simple ceremony.

This brought to 949 the families who have transferred to the multi-million worth of donation from Tzu Chi foundation of Taiwan comprising site development and installation of basic facilities – water, electricity and drainage canals.

Presently, the lacking housing units are assembled by the beneficiaries who were employed in a cash-for-work scheme to complete the 2,000 units the foundation pledged to Ormoc.

While site improvement works and completion of housing units are ongoing, beneficiaries are gradually moved to occupy the completed ones.

“Now I found the idea of Master Cheng Yen very effective. You see, while few inhabitants have transferred, they do the maintenance cleaning of the area while assembling the remaining units,” Li narrated.

Some village dwellers have put up small community store, barber shop, beauty products outlet, among others that delighted the donors.

Tzu Chi has been grateful to the lot donors - couple Mayor Edward and wife, Violeta for the partnership in providing decent shelter to the city’s informal settlers that lost their houses during the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda two years ago. (PNA)
PGL/SQM/ELVIE ROMAN ROA/EGR