TACLOBAN CITY-Children in difficult circumstances need all the attention and understanding.
And this should be more given to children who experienced the wrath of supertyphoon Yolanda.
This was emphasized by Alfred Stual of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) who added that the children should not only get the support from their respective families but even from the government itself.
Stual said that children should be listened to when they try to open up on what they feel and thought about the supertyphoon.
According to the Unicef official, the parents play a big yet sensitive role for their children to overcome their fears related to their experiences of Yolanda.
“Children’s distress and fears should be acknowledged and even if parents are busy providing for their children’s need, they should take time to comfort them and give them affection,” Stual said.
“Children should be reassured that they are safe now; strategies to comfort and calm the children can be used such as hugging them, telling stories, praying with them, and playing simple games,” he added.
He said that if a child is having some difficulties, this manifest in several ways like recurring nightmares, trouble in sleeping, may become withdrawn, fearful or aggressive.
“(He) may also complain that he have pains like stomach aches, headaches, and nausea and fatigue even though it seems like nothing is causing it,” Stual said.
According to Stual, these are all common and temporary reactions to a terrible event they have experienced.
“Parents’ care, patience, understanding and support will make these children recover,” he stressed.
Children should be supported to re-establish daily activities such as going to school, organizing a play, creative and recreation activities, or participating in sports which can help them regain a sense of normalcy, the Unicef official said.

By: LIZBETH ANN ABELLA

TACLOBAN CITY – Leyte provincial administrator Vincent Emnas announced that a P30 million would be allocated to repair the typhoon-damaged Leyte Provincial Jail, which witnessed two instances of jail breaks recently.
Emnas said that the repair of the provincial government-run prison facility is among the priorities of Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla among the damaged buildings owned by the province due to supertyphoon Yolanda.
The roofs of the buildings of the Leyte Provincial Jail, located in Barangay Kauswagan, Palo, were blown away during the typhoon, to include the facility’s perimeter fence.
During the typhoon, hundreds of the inmates there managed to escape but later were either rearrested or returned. And on January 30, close to 200 prisoners staged a jailbreak citing lack of food as the reason for doing so.
The Leyte Provincial Jail presently counts about 500 inmates.
“This was the mandate from Gov. Petilla after we submitted a report to him on the condition of the facility and on what is the better solution to avoid similar problems in the future if another strong typhoon such as Yolanda will happen again,” Emnas said, referring to the planned repair of the facility.
Meantime, administrator Emnas said that the provincial government has now addressed the problems of the inmates like the scarcity of foods.
“The inmates who went back brought with them their respective families. That was one of the reasons why they experience problem on food supply because the food was only allocated for them and not for their families. But we cannot stop them to give food to their families so the province had sent relief packs to them,” Emnas explained.(ROEL T.AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY –The Department of Tourism (DOT) has forged partnership with four colleges in this storm-ravaged city to clean up parks wrecked by supertyphoon Yolanda last year.
About 100 students taking up tourism-related studies at the Asian Development Foundation College, Eastern Visayas State University, Leyte Normal University, and ABE College were listed as beneficiaries in the implementation of the DOT’s cash-for-work program dubbed as tourism students’ welfare program.
DOT Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said the program will run until the end of semester, covering major parks in the city damaged by the supertyphoon.
“We tap students to clean up parks in the city to increase their appreciation of our local tourism destinations. This will also augment the income of their families whose livelihood were affected by the supertyphoon,” Tiopes said.
Participating students receive P260 daily stipend and P80 meal allowance for a total of P340. The students work every Saturday and Sunday, the day they receive their pay.
Rica Mae Davin, 17, a 2nd year Hotel and Restaurant Technology student of EVSU said the program would help ensure that she will be able to continue her study this school year.
“Aside from earning, we are also helping the city restore the sense of normalcy by clearing storm debris scattered in parks,” said Davin, whose father’s income from self-employment was reduced after the storm.
The 100 students were divided into two groups to render a park clean-up work during Saturdays and Sundays. The two teams will work on alternative weekends starting February 22 until the ends of the academic year on May 2014.
Maria Cristina Caintic, dean of EVSU’s College of Technology said only students from poor families along Yolanda’s path were listed as program beneficiaries.
The initiative kicked on February 22 at the Madonna of Japan along the city’s Magsaysay Boulevard. The park fronting the Cancabato Bay is a former encampment site of Japanese soldiers in World War II.
Identified as priority sites for clean up are Family Park and the Balyuan Park, both located along Magsaysay Boulevard.
The DOT asked the Leyte provincial government under Gov. Leopoldo Dominico Petilla to provide heavy equipment for the removal of uprooted trees and other debris. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)

TACLOBAN CITY- The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has asked coconut farmers to clear their respective areas to hasten the replanting activity of their agency and at same time, avoid possible spread of beetle infestations.
PCA Regional Manager Edilberto Nierva said that if the debris which was due to the toppled coconut trees would remain uncollected, it would hamper their planting and replanting program which is part of the rehabilitation plan to the industry hard hit by supertyphoon Yolanda.
“There are farmers who cannot start planting coconut seedling due to the fact that there is still coconut debris stock in the plantation,” Nierva told Leyte Samar Daily Express in an interview.
More than three months after the devastation of supertyphoon Yolanda, the PCA still receives reports regarding coconut debris which remain uncollected.
The PCA donated chain saws to different local government units to help the coconut farmers clear their areas and at the same time, made to good use the toppled coconut trees.
The PCA regional manager said that they want to hasten collection of coconut debris in order to avoid any diseases which may affect other trees especially to those newly planted coconut.
On the other hand, the PCA warned the farmer that debris of cut or sliced coconut lumber, especially the crown, has to be thrown immediately otherwise it will cause beetle infestation.
“There may be diseases and other pests that may arise once this coconut debris will not be collected. This is the reason why we are on the process of fast tracking the collection of coconut debris,” Nierva emphasized.
In the region, the PCA reported that some 33 million of the 72 million coconut trees have been damaged by the typhoon.

By: RYAN GABRIEL ARCENAS