Want to help? Donate utensils, food, mats, blankets and medicine

08/12/2010 - BARANGAY officials of T. Padilla are asking for assistance for the estmated 700 families displaced by Monday’s fire.
Donations can be sent to the barangay hall, said barangay captain Michael Rallota.

He said donors can call him at telephone number 516-03862.

Aside from food, fire victims need kitchen utensils, medicine, blankets, pillows, mats and clothes, he said.

Parents have also asked for mosquito nets for their children since mosquitoes are abundant in the evacuation centers.

Those staying at the Tejero Sports Center complained of a foul smell and stagnant water in the nearby Tejero creek.

“We are afraid that our children will get sick of dengue especially that there are a lot of dengue cases in the city,” Joan said.

Food relief goods from the Cebu city government will be given until tonight.

A three-day distribution of food packs is the normal regimen, said Cathy Yso, Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWD) head.

The food packs include a cup of rice, two cooked viands and a bottle of 500-ml mineral water.

On the fourth day, the city government will start distributing relief goods for each fire victim – a package of three kilos of rice, canned goods, a ladle, pots and pans, and blankets, among others.

With limited suppplies, barangay and city officials are knocking on the hearts of kind-hearted Cebuanos to help.

Housing materials will be distributed next week after the city engineering department widens the access roads for fire trucks in the event of another fire.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama formed an “action team” of government agencies and private groups to be overseen by City Treasurer Ofelia Oliva and City Administrator Jose Mari Poblete.

The action team has department representatives from social welfare, engineering, urban poor affairs, health and the legal office.

Private sector partners include the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco).

Rama said Veco would provide temporary electric connections in the site while the Metro Cebu Water District will provide clean water.

Temporary toilets will be set up and sanitation measures will be monitored. Trauma counseling will be proivded by the DSWD (Cebu Daily News)