AJUY, ILOILO – Lolita Panday, 58, clasps her hands as she tries to calm herself. Mixed feelings of anxiety and excitement engulf her as she waits for her name to be called on stage.

Lolita just learned that she will be receiving P30,000 worth of check as emergency shelter assistance (ESA) from the government.

“This is the very first time that I will be holding such a huge amount. I feel nervous. My knees are shaking,” a mother of 11 children said in dialect.

Lolita, a resident of Barangay Culasi, Ajuy was one of the 300 residents who received P30,000 ESA and 25 kilos of rice recently distributed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the local government.

A grantee of the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Lolita claimed she was also able to receive more than P12,000 during the first releasing of their grant in 2011.

“But this is much bigger. If not for our house that needs to be repaired, I wouldn’t know what to do with this money,” she said.

Since Typhoon Yolanda ravaged the northern town last year, a number of those who were affected are still not able to rebuild their homes. The Pandays’ house lost most of its iron roof and wooden walls.

Lolita’s husband is a fisherman while she works as laundrywoman. With their income “just enough to feed our children,” what the Pandays could only do were hope that they will be provided assistance in the repair of their house.

“Our things will no longer get wet when it rains because we can now buy GI sheets to replace our lost roof,” she said beaming.

GRATEFUL

Municipal mayor Juan Alvarez said they are very grateful to DSWD for all the assistance it has extended to his town.

Aside from the ESA, he said 10, 176 families from Barangay Poblacion also received 25 kilos of rice each.

Ajuy is the very first local government unit in Region 6 that was affected by Typhoon Yolanda to receive the ESA and 25 kilos of rice from the government. The Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office is still preparing the papers for others so they will also receive the same benefits.

“We have 1,000 beneficiaries of Cash-For-Work with a budget of P4,305,000.00. There are P819,000.00 worth of livelihood projects that are on-going in the three barangays. We have also the shelter component. And all of these are from DSWD,” Alvarez said.

MORE TO COME

DSWD regional director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre commended the LGU of Ajuy for

their prompt submission of the required documents the reason why they are the first to receive the ESA and rice.

She said more beneficiaries will receive the same assistance in the coming weeks as the “government does not stop in findings ways to help those who lost their homes and livelihood” to the typhoon.

“Please help us tell and explain to others who have not yet received. There are still more coming. You are just the first batch,” the director said.

Earlier, DSWD Secreatry Corazon Soliman declared that the Department will finish the distribution of ESA to families who were affected by Typhoon Yolanda by January next year./Wenna B. Bendol/dswd6