Singapore Red Cross Hands Over Rebuilding Projects In Busuanga And Albuera

Singapore, 7 November 2014 – Singapore Red Cross (SRC) at a press briefing today announced the delivery of Typhoon Haiyan rebuilding projects in Busuanga (Palawan) and Albuera (Leyte). One year on from the disaster, local communities in Busuanga and Albuera, will regain access to healthcare, schools, safe and clean water, as well as livelihood programmes, made possible by contributions from the people of Singapore (see Annex A for details).

“It has been a year since Typhoon Haiyan devastated millions of lives, leaving so many homeless and stranded. Post-disaster, the Singapore Red Cross had identified a swathe of rebuilding and rehabilitation projects that have good outreach and lasting impact potential on the community. We are glad to announce that of the 20 post-disaster recovery and reconstruction programmes that we have been working on, 11 have been completed and handed over to the local communities, with a further 9 on track for on-time delivery.” said Mr Benjamin William, Secretary General of SRC (see Annex B for progress of all projects).

Since the launch of the Typhoon Haiyan public appeal, SRC has raisedS$12.26million from the Government and People of Singapore. Albuera and Busuanga are two of eight different areas (other six areas: Aklan and Capiz, Vasayas region, Southern Districts – Samar, Bantayan, Dulag, Pastrana and Tabon Tabon) in which SRC had identified and committed to rebuilding projects after the disaster. One year on, SRC continues to work with 11 established implementing partners to complete the 20 post-disaster recovery and reconstruction programmes. These projects will benefit some 87 affected communities, and positively impacting an estimated 1.5 million lives.

The projects in Busuanga and Albuera were officially handed over to the local communities this week by the SRC.

Sustainability of Humanitarian Aid

“We must however bear in mind that the work of rehabilitation and rebuilding is a commitment that stretches over years. For instance, after reconstructing the building, maintaining vital medical equipment and supplies; hospital rehabilitation will only truly be completed when we are ensured that the hospital can be sustained by the local community in the long run,” added Mr William.

To ensure sustainability and a continued link with the community, SRC will continue to deploy its volunteers and Red Cross Youth to the completed projects for follow-up community programmes on safety, hygiene and psychosocial support for the affected communities.

Busuanga – A multifaceted rebuilding programme

The devastating storm battered Busuanga, a municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines, destroying public infrastructure, houses and livelihoods. Together with its humanitarian partner, the Life!Community Development (LCD), SRC embarked on 15 rebuilding and reconstruction projects that will benefit some 6,000 locals from three barangays (Buluang, Salvacion, San Rafael) as well as the Tagbanua Tribe, an indigenous group. Cutting across four major areas – health, infrastructure, livelihood, water and sanitation, these diverse projects provide the local community, with improved access to education, healthcare and livelihood programmes such as a model demo farm and farmer’s cooperative (see Annex A for more details).

Albuera – A training school leveraging Singapore construction technology

Partnering WYNASEAN, SRC’s school project in Albuera will serve some 400 families of the Calingatan community, with an aim to provide improved access, capacity and choice of education for all age groups. The school, which can house almost 270 students, was erected using advanced Singapore technology. It is located ideally within the municipality such that students are able to reduce their average travelling time considerably as compared to before. This is also the first school in the town that will provide vocational training facilities. The new school will also serve as an emergency evacuation centre during times of disaster.

Donor Accountability

“During the development phase, we continuously monitor, review and evaluate the programmes and projects with the support from multiple partners in Singapore and the Philippines. Our implementing partners provide us on-ground updates of the progress of each project and the SRC project management team undertakes periodic field visits to monitor progress. Funds are also disbursed in tranches, upon the achievement of specific benchmarks in the progress of the projects,” said Mr William.

For Annex A, please click here.

For Annex B, please click here.