Three thousand one hundred seventy-eight (3,178) Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) beneficiaries with totally damaged houses in Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte received their Php10,000 shelter assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office Caraga, on March 6-10, 2023.

 

ESA recipients were given specific schedules in claiming their cash assistance so as to maintain order and quick transaction, with the help of the Del Carmen Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWD) Office. The government’s ESA program is meant to assist families who are victims of disasters whose houses are totally damaged, specifically survivors on the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.

“Karon nga nakadawat na ko sa kwarta ang una nako nga paliton katong mga wiring sa among balay kay walay kuryente. Nagpasalamat ko nga nakadawat ko karon ug nagpasalamat sab ko sa gobyerno sa suporta ilabina sa DSWD nga maoy nagfacilitate ani nga makadawat ko. Daghang salamat kaayo (With the money I have received, I will buy materials for the electrical installation because we don’t have electricity yet. I am grateful to the government’s support, especially DSWD for this. Thank you so much)”, Manuel J. Arcaya, 54 years old, Barangay San Jose, said.

 

“Dako amo pasalamat nan ini na program sanan ini na assistance nga gihatag kay dako ini na tabang sa amo family. Magpalit sad kami nan plywood para sa dingding namo kay naguba man sa Odette ug dugang sin kay waya pa man gajud nahuman ang sa likod nga area (We are grateful for this program and assistance because this is a big help to my family. We’ll buy plywood for our house’s wall that was damaged by Odette and additional galvanized roof),” Marrel Jane Matencio, 30 years old, Barangay Antipolo also shared.

In Caraga, Emergency Shelter Assistance was distributed from November 2022 to March 2023. As of this writing, 55,432 ESA beneficiaries who were Odette-affected families have received the assistance.

 

The Department on the other hand, reminded the ESA recipients that the cash assistance is designed to help them recover from the disaster and should not be used for other expenses outside of the purpose for the assistance.

 

Further, to ensure that the assistance is being used as designed, Field Office Caraga will be conducting an ESA monitoring after the payout. FO Caraga will continue to carry out programs like the ESA for the marginalized and disadvantaged individuals.