TANAUAN, Leyte- ChildFund Philippines turned over farm equipment to farmers still reeling from the losses they sustained from supertyphoon Yolanda. The beneficiaries of the farm equipment, consisting of four rice threshers and six units of water pumps, were from the 10 farmers’ organizations from Dagami and this town. Although their focus is on child protection against cases of violence, child labor and human trafficking, they decided to provide assistance to families affected by Yolanda, Katherine Manic, ChildFund national director, said.
By extending assistance to the poor families, they could stop occurrence of human trafficking and child labor, she added. “You take care of this and you should not sell the farm equipment,” Manic said, addressing the beneficiaries. Leyte Vice Governor Carlo Loreto and Tanauan Mayor Pelagio Tecson, Jr. witnessed the turn- over of the farm equipment. Tecson expressed his gratitude to the ChildFund in providing assistance to the farmers in his town saying the assistance could hasten their recovery. Loreto, for his part, said that the organization is not only helping protect children but also provides livelihood opportunities to families still reeling from the effects of Yolanda, particularly the farmers. Manic expressed her optimism that with the farm equipment provided by their organization, farmers could now improve their production output and in the process, help their respective families recovered. She added that they would continue to provide assistance to the farmers as she divulged that ChildFund partnered with the Department of Agriculture for their future projects. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
