CARRASCAL, Surigao del Sur– A Filipino family’s home is their own castle.
Guided with this thinking, Marcventures Mining and Development Corporation (MMDC) has made sure that households within their host communities needing repair are assisted so that family members are safe and secure in their homes.
The family of Annie Gragas, a housewife and mother of three, is one of the many beneficiaries who has benefited from the home repair assistance under MMDC’s Social Development and Management Program (SDMP).
“It always bothers us when it rains because raining would mean our roofs would leak again. We also have children who will surely be exposed to elements and possibly catch a disease if the roof comes off anytime,” says Annie, whose husband works as a utility worker at a barge.
Annie, a resident of Brgy. Gamuton says the inclement weather and the occasional typhoon have been the major cause of damage to their house and that of their neighbors. Most houses in their village are only made of thatched roof and light materials. While they are grateful that they have a place to live in, Annie says they also long for a sturdier home but unfortunately, they cannot afford the cost even of house repairs.
“It’s not uncommon for families here to wake up with their roofs missing, and their things getting wet when a bad weather strikes,” she says in the dialect.
With MMDC’s house repair assistance, Annie got their house repaired and their “nipa” roofing was upgraded to a more durable galvanized iron late last year.
For Annie and other beneficiaries in Cantilan and Carrascal towns, Marcventures spent a total of over PHP546,000 for the house repair project in 2017.
Two of Annie’s neighboring households are also recipients of the program.
Katalina Pareha, a widow, says she had been unable to do repairs on their house for years as their family’s meager income would be prioritized on putting food on the table.
“Living in a damaged house with a roof that’s about to fly anytime is really risky–it’s not safe at all, especially during typhoons,” Lola Katalina says, referring to the province being a known typhoon path.
“We really appreciate the house repair project of Marcventures. It may not be much in the eyes of others but to our often damaged shanty homes, the house repair is more than enough,” the grandmother of four says.
Emma Degracia, another beneficiary who had been living with her family in an unfinished house, agrees.
“Before availing of the house repair assistance from Marcventures, we could hardly sleep when it rains because the leaking roof wouldn’t allow us to,” Emma says.
She adds: “Everybody wants a nice home — but it’s the dignity of not being deprived of a decent shelter that means more to us. We sincerely thank MMDC for providing this kind of relief and comfort.”
