On Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, PRC chairman and chief executive officer Richard Gordon spearheaded the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the chief executives of the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Naga and the towns of Cordova and Barili for the implementation of the project, which is a joint project of the PRC and the Canadian Red Cross (CRC).
Since 2010, the PRC has supported 297 schools that benefited 350,000 children nationwide who actively participated in hygiene promotion activities.
Gordon said the beneficiaries were public schools that were screened and chosen based on their students’ access to clean drinking water, noting that around 800,000 children under five years of age die from diarrhea worldwide due to poor handwashing and insufficient sanitation facilities.
Under the MOA, the PRC will closely coordinate with the selected local government units’ Department of Education division offices and the municipal and city health offices for the project’s implementation.
Dr. Gwendolyn Pang, PRC secretary general, said the project targets to reach 50,000 individuals in Cebu, Leyte and Negros Occidental.
Pang said the PRC allotted P38 million for the project that is expected to last until December 2025. The CRC provided the funding.
New trucks
Also on Saturday, the PRC turned over 13 trucks worth P18.2 million that were donated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The trucks, which are currently parked at the PRC warehouse in Mandaue City, will be converted into cargo trucks that can load emergency supplies and equipment and transport at least 21 people in times of calamities.
The vehicles will be distributed in selected areas in Mindanao, including Davao City, Bukidnon, Agusan del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Surigao del Norte, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga City, Gingoog City, Iligan City, Lanao del Sur, Davao del Sur and Cotabato City.