IRRI hands over donation to Haiyan fund drive

The Philippine Desk of IRRI’s Partnerships Office turned over on 16 January a donation  to the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to support rehabilitation work for survivors of the Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) disaster in November 2013.

The donation was put together from the Institute’s budget for its end-of-year party for 2013 and the monetary equivalent of the rice rations that were volunteered by some employees.

CRS is currently serving 40,000 families, providing them emergency shelter, water, sanitation, and relief items for the first three months. These efforts are aimed at the most affected areas of Leyte and Samar provinces.

In January, CRS will start its agricultural recovery, which will mainly benefit rice and coconut farmers in the affected areas, and shelter recovery programs.
Joseph Curry, country representative, CRS intends to set up a long-term presence in Leyte and Samar for post-typhoon recovery.

Brian MacDonald (photo), program director at CRS, received the check from IRRI Partnerships office staff Sylvia Avance and Joselito Platon.

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