20K quake victims seek relief from microfinance NGO, say

MORE than 20,000 victims of the spate of earthquakes that rocked parts of Mindanao recently have found solace from the quick response for relief provided by a grassroots-based nongovernment organization that specializes in microfinance.

Jocelyn Dequito, executive director of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Inc., reported that their NGO managed to provide immediate relief assistance such as food, water, clothes, and medicines to quake victims from 4,878 affected families in Mindanao.

“The recent earthquakes in the different parts of Mindanao is a reminder that Filipino families continue to be vulnerable to natural disasters. Not only were houses and establishments destroyed, but lives were also taken away because of the recent disaster,” Dequito said.

“While these calamities cannot be prevented or avoided, there is always hope for vulnerable. Organizations like the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Inc., a Microfinance NGO, are always ready to extend their helping hands whenever the socio-economically challenged faces adversi

ties,” Dequito added.

Since the establishment of the microfinance NGO in 1986, it has vowed to empower communities by providing access to social and economic development services including disaster management.

From 2016 to 2018, more than 320,000 affected individuals of calamities were given relief assistance amounting to PHP64 million. As of November 2019, the institution spent more than PHP580,000.00 for the relief assistance to afflicted communities.

“CARD, Inc. also allows its clients to become resilient when calamities strike. More than 64,000 of its clients received claims payment having access to microinsurance services. This served as their safety nets in times of uncertainties,” Dequito explained.

“However, it is not only during calamities when the poor faces uncertainties. It is when there is lack of access to education, healthcare, and other development programs that they remain trapped in the cycle of poverty,” she added.

As such, Dequito noted that CARD, Inc. implements relevant community development programs and services for the communities. Continuous and better healthcare programs and services, through its microfinance and health protection program, are brought closer to the communities especially to those impoverished and disaster-stricken areas.

In the last three years, more than 20,000 of its clients received hospitalization benefits and 337 thousand individuals have access to affordable and quality medicines, and to other healthcare-related services. For these, the institution allocated an average of PhP 45M per year.

The Microfinance

NGO envisions a future when every household will have at least one college graduate, hence the One Family One Graduate Program.

“When people are educated, their chances of creating a better future for themselves and their families become higher,” Dequito said.