For families in Barangay Quiot Pardo, Cebu City, Typhoon Odette was merciless. The typhoon ripped through their homes, tore down roofs, and brought down cement walls like a house of cards.
From the safety of his neighbor’s home, Richard Casipong, watched helplessly as his tin roof flew off his house. With his roof completely gone, Richard could only stare as one of his walls collapsed, leaving his home completely open to the onslaught of Typhoon Odette. “We sought cover in our neighbor’s house. I watched my roofing fly off one by one. The next morning, everything was destroyed,” he recounted.
Richard’s home, like many of the residents of Sitio Liberty of Barangay Quiot Pardo was made from light materials. With its elevated location, residents were left vulnerable to the elements. Five months after the typhoon, many of the residents still have patches in their roofs, missing walls, and makeshift doors and living spaces.
With Typhoon Odette dubbed as one of the toughest typhoons to hit the country, many communities are still rebuilding their lives months after. The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI), through its Humanitarian Disaster Preparedness and Response (HDPR) program continues to help heavily affected communities by providing emergency shelter, immediate relief, and assistance in livelihood recovery.
In support of RAFI’s Typhoon Odette rehabilitation efforts, Jewelmer, an international luxury brand, donated Php. 1M to RAFI.
In celebration of love month, Jewelmer held a month-long Valentine’s Day promotion wherein a portion of their sales would be allocated to the RAFI Typhoon Odette Relief Operations. The luxury jewelry brand and their customers shared their love for the communities of RAFI by raising enough funds to support the foundation’s Phase One emergency relief efforts.
“The pearl is a symbol of unity and hope, that can be especially resonant during these times. Caring for our community is at the core of Jewelmer and builds the foundation of the maison. Committed to addressing social and economic development needs of marginalized communities, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation was chosen as the partner of this initiative to support the families displaced by Typhoon Odette. Through this partnership, we aim to support the livelihood and development programs of the affected communities. Trying times call for us to share our hope and strength with those who need it,” said Jacques Christophe Branellec, Jewelmer’s Executive Vice President and Deputy CEO.
A total of 53 families received shelter kits from Jewelmer and RAFI on May 12, 2022. Shelter kits contain necessary building materials, tools, and other important household items to help them get back on their feet.
“Typhoon Odette affected families and communities in more ways than imagined. We are deeply grateful to Jewelmer for their kind donation to RAFI. Through their help we can reach more families who continue to rebuild their lives months after the typhoon. The journey to recovery is a long one, but through partners such as Jewelmer, we are able to walk with our communities and help rebuild their lives,” said Amaya Aboitiz-Fansler, President and CEO of RAFI.
Typhoon Odette hit the Philippines on December 16, 2021, affecting thousands of Filipinos and their families in the Visayas and Mindanao. RAFI provided extensive immediate emergency relief to affected communities through its 3-Phase Odette Response Roadmap for communities in Cebu, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Bohol, and Southern Leyte. To date, RAFI has provided immediate relief to a total of 210,386 families through distribution of relief packs, water, shelter kits, and psychosocial support.
To learn more about RAFI’s Typhoon Odette Relief Operations, interested organizations and parties may visit www.rafi.org.ph/rafiresponse. RAFI continues with hits Typhoon Odette rehabilitation and recovery efforts in hard-hit communities. Current efforts include livelihood and water system recovery efforts. The foundation continues to look for interested partners who would like to help rebuild the lives of communities affected by typhoon Odette.
Jewelmer was born out of a commitment to the world’s most lustrous cultured South Sea pearls and exquisite fine jewelry. Established in 1979 by Jacques Branellec and Manuel Cojuangco, Jewelmer has grown globally to represent a world of rarity and enduring elegance.
The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation is a non-stock, non-profit organization based in Cebu, Philippines. RAFI is committed to elevating the dignity of man by implementing solutions that enable people to achieve higher levels of wellbeing. Its main program domains include Economic, focused on improving the economic well-being of communities; Social, creating opportunities for growth and improving a sense of identity and purpose; and Physical, building healthy, resilient, and livable communities.
