The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has extended humanitarian assistance worth Php758,070 to families displaced by the recent eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on June 3rd.
"Through our Field Offices in Western and Central Visayas, we were able to distribute Php611,980 worth of aid to Negros Occidental and Php146,090 to Negros Oriental," said DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao, who also serves as the spokesperson for the Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG).
The DSWD's assistance includes family food packs, family kits, and sleeping kits.
As the head of the Camp Coordination and Camp Management Cluster, the DSWD is also working with local government units (LGUs) to monitor the situation of the 426 families or 1,414 individuals currently seeking shelter in evacuation centers across the two provinces.
"We are prioritizing the well-being of vulnerable groups, especially children, nursing mothers, and pregnant women," said Asst. Sec. Dumlao. "That's why we've set up child-friendly and women-friendly spaces in the evacuation centers."
These spaces offer psychosocial counseling, games, educational activities, art therapy sessions, and supplementary feeding programs. The initiative is in line with Republic Act No. 10821, or the Children's Emergency Relief and Protection Act.