SM Foundation broke ground for another SM Cares Village in Ormoc City last March 18.
The two-hectare land donated by Ormoc City Mayor Edward Codilla in barangay Barrio Catmon, barangay Concepcion, Ormoc will soon be home to 200 families who fell victim to typhoon Yolanda in 2013.
The groundbreaking ceremony was led by SM Prime Holdings vice president Marissa Fernan along with SM Cares Village partners Debbie Ongsip of Duty Free Philippines and Elmer Cadiz of Answering the Cry of the Poor.
During his speech, Mayor Codilla said donating the land is an “opportunity to help our fellow Ormocanons.”
A total of 200 typhoon-resilient houses with concrete roofs and walls will be constructed in the area.
Each house costs P250,000, while the entire project costs around P300 million.
In an interview, Fernan said the process of identifying the 200 beneficiaries is still ongoing. Families living in the typhoon-prone areas of Ormoc City as well as those occupying transitional houses provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be given priority. Fernan said the would-be occupants will undergo screening. “These families must be truly Yolanda survivors, financially incapable of rebuilding their homes, willing to become a part of a livelihood project and willing to participate in a livelihood seminar,” Fernan said.
After the construction of the SM Cares Village, the next phase will be to build a community livelihood center to teach its occupants livelihood skills that they can use to make the community economically self-sustaining.
SM Group aims to finish all 1,000 houses in all SM Cares Villages in Visayas by September this year. The construction of all 200 houses in Bogo City, Cebu and 500 houses in Iloilo has already been completed. /Dominic Yasay