Soup kitchens, cash best relief aid for typhoon victims

This is a reaction to the article “Why not soup kitchens instead of food packs?” (News, 11/30/13) by TJ Burgonio.

I am a campus manager of Job Training Institute in South Australia. Our college CEO and owner sent us to the Philippines to do some relief work. One of our projects is a feeding program for Supertyphoon “Yolanda” evacuees from Samar and Leyte who are in Albay now. We serve them, children and adults, porridge with chicken and egg. The extras we reserve for their next meal. Thus, we are able to serve them breakfast and lunch.

Right now, what they need is easy access to nutritious food, and they would rather have ready-to-eat meals rather than bags of food yet to be cooked.

During our interaction with the evacuees, we learned that aside from food and shelter, they also need soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, alcohol, sanitary pads, clothes, slippers, etc.—things essential for them to start afresh.

We do assist in repacking goods at the Albay Astrodome (Albay is one of the relief hubs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development). But these donations can come handy later on when the typhoon victims shall have recovered from their initial shock and horror.

Also, we agree with Albay Gov. Joey Salceda who noted, in an interview, that money would be the best kind of relief at this point. This, along with the soup kitchen, will enable typhoon victims to rebuild their lives faster. And the soup kitchen approach will not require huge shipping or trucking costs.

The primary target should be to help the victims get back on their feet and become self-sufficient once again. A soup kitchen at this time is an indispensable component of every rehabilitation effort. And it is not just about cutting costs but more about providing Yolanda’s victims with ready-to-eat, nutritious food to help them recover physical and mental strength and overcome the pain of this tragedy.

—KATRINA ISABEL SUZARA,
campus manager,
Job Training Institute Pty Ltd,
South Australia, katsuzara@yahoo.com