Leyte village gets solar dryer from US gov’t

TANAUAN, Leyte, Dec. 2 (PNA) – Prior to the construction of a solar dryer and grain warehouse in Sta. Elena village, this town, farmers like Arnel Dacuyan use vacant lots and basketball courts to dry grains.

“Now, that we already have the facility, rice farmers will no longer need to dry their palay (unhusked rice) anywhere and they also have safe warehouse to store their grains,” Dacuyan said.

Sta. Elena village, a rice producing community, is located about two kilometers from the national road of Tanauan-Dagami Road.

Indeed, Sta. Elena is the top rice producing area in the town with 8.5 tons harvest per hectare, higher than the total rice production of the town at 3.5 tons per hectare. This can be attributed to established irrigation system, allowing farmers to harvest rice twice a year.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded the construction of post-Yolanda Rebuild Project assistance.

The project costs USD57,356 and will benefit a total of 108 farmers, cultivating a more than 120 hectares of rice fields in the village.

Mayor Pelagio Tecson Jr. said that Sta. Elena residents are lucky to receive the project from the USAID. “Restoring livelihood is just as equal as restoring houses damaged by super typhoon Yolanda,” the mayor added.

The USAID also provided technical assistance to Sta. Elena farmers by teaching them new rice farming techniques.

Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla urged farmers to think of their future by forgetting what had happened during Yolanda.

Petilla also expressed gratitude to the USAID for helping farmers in the province in the form of provision of technical assistance, farm inputs and post harvest facilities aimed at raising output.

“With dryers, farmers will no longer dry their grain along roads, which is prohibited by the Department of Public Works and Highways,” the governor added.

USAID Deputy Mission Director Clay Epperson said that their donation in Sta. Elena is part of the 30 agri-fishery support facilities for areas affected by the 2013 catastrophe. (PNA)
FFC/SQM/RTA

Locals told to maximize benefits of Leyte hospital repaired by US gov’t

BURAUEN, Leyte, Nov. 30 (PNA) – A local health official asked residents in the province to maximize the use of Burauen District Hospital, which was recently rehabilitated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Leyte provincial health officer Ofelia Absin said the newly-repaired health facility should be used by people in the towns of Burauen, Dagami, La Paz and Tabontabon, clustered by the Department of Health as one interlocal health zone.

“Health facilities are only useful if residents use them,” Absin said. “No government and no donors can make people healthy if citizens do not take action to protect themselves and promote their health.”

The hospital ward and Tuberculosis Directly Observed Treatment Short course (TB-DOTS) facilities are the fifth and sixth medical health facility turned-over by the USAID to the province.

This is part of the 12 medical facilities in the province funded by the US government under the USD143 million post-Yolanda Rebuild Project.

The USAID also provided medical equipment to the local government to ensure that it can be used immediately after the turn-over.

Burauen District Hospital is one of the 12 provincial government-administered hospitals, which was severely destroyed by super typhoon Yolanda on Nov. 8, 2013.

Aside from providing maternal and child health, family planning services, the hospital was also a TB-DOTS referral hospital in 2013.

But in 2014, the hospital stopped treating TB presumptive cases after super typhoon Yolanda destroyed the facility and displaced some of its health workers.

“This will allow us to extend our services here in Burauen District Hospital, especially in terms of treatment and other care services here in the province,” said Absin.

Next year, hospital management will apply for DOTS certification and health insurance accreditation.

The new health facilities built by the US government thru the USAID, reaffirms their commitment to help the province rebuild better and stronger.

“This is achieved by providing family equitable access to health care, building healthy and stable community and ultimately building a prosperous democratic society,” said USAID Deputy Mission Director Clay Epperson.

“With this new facilities and equipment, we trust that you will continue to provide the people of Burauen and nearby towns a quality maternal and child health and tuberculosis control.”

The health facility is a symbol of solidarity and friendship between USA and the Philippines.

Epperson added that though the Visayas Health Project, USAID ensures the assistance to those affected by super typhoon Yolanda in delivering maternal and child health facilities and family planning services. (PNA)
CTB/SQM/RTA/EGR