Japanese donate beds to tent city

SURVIVORS of supertyphoon Yolanda currently living in the tent city at the South Road Properties (SRP) will now be able to sleep much better.

The Japanese Association of Cebu, Inc. (JAC) yesterday handed over mattresses to the 54 families currently housed in the tent city formally known as the Family Rebuilding Center (FRC) by the Philippine Red Cross and the Cebu City government. “We chose to give mattresses as main item because it’s very hard for them to sleep in the tents without mattresses because the ground is very hard,” said JAC President Mimura Yukihiro. Aside from the mattresses, the JAC also handed out bath soap, detergent soap, pillows, blankets, stuffed toys, LPG tanks and cooking pans worth  P170,000. Mimura said yesterday’s donation was the last wave of relief efforts done by the JAC since the supertyphoon hit in November last year. The association has conducted relief operations in northern Cebu and Leyte with donations from the Japanese people both in Japan and expatriates residing in the Philippines. Mimura said there are currently more than 2,000 Japanese living in Cebu based on the records of the Japanese Consular Office. Mimura himself has been living in Cebu since 2001. According to Vic Jay Gonzal, Red Cross Lapu-Lapu-Cordova chapter head and office-in-charge of the tent city, donations from private groups continue to pour in for the survivors in the center. “There are still a lot of donations coming in. Some are scheduled while there are also others coming in  unannounced. We’re requesting donors to inform us ahead if they want to come so that we can schedule them,” he said.

TAGS: South Road Properties