5,000 families still homeless, 8 months after ‘Sendong’

ALMOST nine months after Tropical Storm Sendong washed away thousands of lives and properties in Cagayan de Oro, more evacuees remain homeless in the city.

Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma said in a radio interview that survivors are still in evacuation sites while the church, local government, and other multi-sectoral organizations are striving to help them avail of the Community Mortgage Program.

This, amid recent pronouncements by City Mayor Vicente Emano of the completion of 5,000 houses during the convention of the League of Municipalities held in the city recently.

Around 5,000 more families are still hoping to be given their permanent housing units. This is based on the record of the archdiocese’s Social Action Center (SAC) and data from Technology Outreach and Community Help (Touch Foundation) and the Foundation for Growth and Organizational Upliftment for People Inc. (Group Foundation), according to Ledesma.

But Emano said that as of August, at least 5,000 houses were already completed for the Sendong victims.

Around 8,000 houses were destroyed, while more than 12,000 were damaged in Cagayan de Oro from flashfloods brought by Sendong last year.

Several organizations have been helping the City Government build the houses, particularly Habitat for Humanity and Xavier University, among other groups.