KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato (PIA) -- A team from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has returned to Surigao City, particularly to Sumilom Island, to lend a hand in the restoration of houses damaged by Typhoon Odette in December.
Sumilom Island is 45 minutes from the mainland and accessible only by boat.
TESDA 12 Regional Director Rafael Y. Abrogar II, together with 24 personnel from different TESDA Training Institutions and Provincial Training Centers, in a mission tagged as TESDAmayan 2.0, brought with them tools to be used in the construction of at least 35 houses destroyed in the last typhoon.
“We brought chainsaw, portable table saw, construction materials here in the island to help them build their houses,” Director Abrogar II said in a radio interview.
TESDA 12 manufactured lumber out of fallen trees and coconuts at the island since sourcing wood construction materials from the mainland could take days.
“Many trees, especially coconuts, have fallen. That’s why we bring these materials for us to produce the needed woods for the houses,” Director Abrogar II said.
Other materials were sponsored by local government units and private donors.
TESDA 12, the agency for skills and other TechVoc programs, brought in experts in masonry, carpentry and electrical works to the island not only to help in the construction of houses but also to train locals, thereby, increasing the number of people who could assist in hastening the restoration of houses in the area.
Ninety- percent of the houses in Sumilom Island were destroyed during the typhoon Odette. About two months after the devastation, residents there are still recovering.
In January, during the first TESDAmayan, TESDA 12 built 20 houses in Barangay Punta Bilar, Surigao City three weeks after the devastation brought by typhoon Odette.
TESDA Director General Secretary Isidro S. Lapeña assured that more help will come to the different areas in Mindanao and Visayas affected by Typhoon Odette and added that scholarship programs will soon resume in these areas to help provide livelihood and employment. (with reports from TESDA XII. Photo credit: TESDA XII)
