Fil-Canadian soldiers complete 'Yolanda' relief mission

MANILA, Philippines - Canada’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) has completed its immediate humanitarian assistance mission in areas ravaged by Super Typhoon "Yolanda," the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

The DFA said the DART members stayed in Roxas City in Capiz for over a month and assisted local authorities and non-governmental organizations in reaching communities rendered inaccessible by the disaster.

The DART is a multidisciplinary military organization designed to deploy on short notice anywhere in the world in response to situations ranging from natural disasters to complex humanitarian emergencies. 

According to the DFA, more than a dozen Filipino-Canadian members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) were chosen for their language skills to serve as liaison officers within the DART. 

"As such, they provided vital links between local authorities, international aid agencies and CAF members; a unique opportunity for members of the Filipino community, one of the largest migrant communities in Canada, to give assistance to their kababayans on the ground in disaster-struck areas." the DFA said.

The agency said services in communities covered by the DART’s mission have been restored to their condition before Yolanda, "completing the DART’s mission in the Philippines."