Food for work: Medellin town shifting from relief to rebuilding

CEBU, Philippines - If your family wants to get relief goods, help clean up the town first.

This is the message of Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez to his constituents after he decided yesterday to stop the distribution of free relief goods in his town and announced the start of the “Food for Work” program.

For over a week now since typhoon Yolanda blew away most roofs and toppled trees and electric poles, municipal workers have spent days and nights repacking and distributing relief items to the barangays, without much time and energy left to do anything else.

The Food for Work program is meant to involve the victims in rebuilding the town and to discourage the culture of mendicancy. It also signals the local government’s official shift from relief operations to start rebuilding and rehabilitation.

The northern town, which saw the eye of the supertyphoon, was showered all week with aid from private individuals, groups and institutions who distributed either through the municipal government or directly to the victims.

“The first step to recovery is to get rid of all the debris left behind by Yolanda. We will clean Medellin from top to bottom and therefore we are launching our Food for Work concept for a battered but clean Medellin,” Mayor Ramirez announced.

Townsfolk have shown some signs of beginning to get back to what was left of their normal lives. Sari-sari stores have opened, fruit and vegetable vendors at little corner markets have come back to sell.

Yesterday, some consumers went to the municipal hall wanting to pay their water bills, although they were told water systems and offices were damaged so they can just keep their payments until everything is restored. An inquiry about payments for real property taxes was already received from a lot owner wanting to pay his dues.

“Step by agonizing step we are slowly recovering. We have managed to turn on our streetlights from the corner road of the subdivision where we have our two concrete water tanks all the way to the corner of former mayor Lim’s house. It’s nice to see people once again strolling along the streets.”

Generator sets lent by private institutions are powering the water systems in a few barangays and giving free charging of mobile phones for the public.

“Mao ra ni akong ika saad, Medellin will not have a dark Christmas,” the mayor added, as linemen from Cebeco are frantically trying to restore power lines.

With the shift from relief to rehabilitation, the local government is calling all those who are willing to donate to give housing and other construction materials instead of food so people can rebuild their houses and their lives.

For the Food for Work program, Ramirez met with all barangay captains and came up with a schedule for barangays to avail of this. Only one representative from each family will be accommodated to give chance to all families affected. Those who join the Food for Work program can get their relief packs immediately after the end of the day’s work.

They will be deployed to clean the streets and public places like schools, barangay halls, markets, and all areas possible.

The program will kick off this Wednesday with families cleaning up Lamintak Sur, Lamintak Norte, Dayhagon and Don Virgilio.

Thursday’s schedule will be barangays Tindog, Curva, Panugnawan, Canhabagat, while on Friday it will be the turn of Kawit, Mahawak and Antipolo.

The Food for Work program will be in Poblacion, Daanlungsod, Luy-a and Caputatan Sur on Saturday while on Sunday the program will involve families in Gibitngil Island who will be asked to clean the surroundings.

The program will continue as long as there is still available relief goods for distribution at the Municipal Hall. (FREEMAN)