Vesagas: The story of a company that CARES

Monday, February 6, 2012

EXPERIENCES tell that after “Sendong” ruthlessly ravaged Northern Mindanao and some parts of southern Visayas like a Grinch on a Christmas week that displaced thousands of families, stories of heroism flourished among the survivors and witnesses of the tragedy.

Aids in the forms of cash donations, in kind and in service continued to pour in from local and foreign agencies, government or private, including a great number of private individuals even a month after the gruesome typhoon claimed the lives of many.

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In a social study of the disaster and risk management by sociologists to survivors of Typhoon Ondoy in Visayas last 2009; it was found that “inappropriate” forms of help prevailed as evidenced by such donations as winter tents, high-heeled shoes and the like.

Some forms of help were also culturally insensitive like donating boxes of pork and beans to Muslim victims.

While the spiel “beggars cannot be choosers” may ring a bell to those who insist that the so-called “inappropriate” forms of help are better than nothing, still, the research found that those donations that did not fit the actual needs of the victims had gone wasted.

Almost three years later, Cagayan de Oro and its neighboring cities experienced “Ondoy” through “Sendong” and like the former, the latter typhoon called for assistance in any way that could at least give temporary remedy by answering to the basic needs of the victims like food, shelter and clothing.

Unfortunately, the mistakes of “Ondoy” are repeated post “Sendong”. There have been verified reports, especially among volunteers extending inappropriate help.

Muslim victims complain that pork and pork-products are served in feeding programs, not minding their special dietary practices that their religion calls for.

Fortunately, one private company stood up and made a difference.

The UniFruitti Group of companies, a Davao-based Filipino-owned company that exports high quality Cavanish bananas and pineapple with its plantation at Bukidnon, opted to address the sanitation needs of the evacuation sites of the flood victims, particularly at Sitio Tibasak in Barangay Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City.

“We preferred to construct toilets instead of giving money to ensure that recipients or beneficiaries will have decent toilets to use,” said one of UniFruitti’s managers who want to remain anonymous.

The company constructed 10 units of water-sealed toilets and upgraded 16 other donated toilets by other organizations to a water-sealed flush type.

Each newly constructed toilet is expected to benefit an estimate of 17 families who will also take turns in cleaning and maintaining the said communal comfort rooms.

The company also constructed one public kitchen and cooking area that can accommodate 20 persons at a time and a common laundry and wash area, including four cubicles of bathing area where residents can take turns in taking a bath without worrying much of privacy concerns.

“It has been observed that one of the aftermath effects of ‘Sendong’ was the scarcity of water that has caused a number of health problems like diarrhea and leptospirosis. We hope that by addressing the need for clean water and toilets for hygienic purposes, it will help alleviate this deplorable living conditions of the homeless flood survivors,” shares by a manager of Unifruitti.

In the coming days, the company is set to offer free selected health services such as medical and dental check-ups, free medicine supplies and dressings to those who had sustained injuries. They will also be giving free school supplies for children aged three to seven years old.

In consortium with non-government organizations and other agencies, the company will be organizing a livelihood training and psychiatric counseling to its adopted community.

As of press time, the Unifruitti Group of Company has already donated 8,149 boxes and continues to donate boxes of its export product Cavanish bananas to victims of Sendong in Sitio Tibasak in Barangay Macasandig, Balulang, Consolacion, Iponan and other affected areas.

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