Additional 24 beneficiaries are looking forward to safe new homes in Sara, Iloilo as Monsanto Philippines prepares to turn over the completed housing units to Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation, Inc. (GK).
This is the second phase of the Monsanto-GK housing initiative in the Municipality of Sara, where an initial 30 core shelters were completed last February 2015. The housing units were built to withstand strong winds of possible super typhoons in the future.
The housing project is part of a community recovery program by Monsanto-Philippines and Gawad Kalinga for farming communities affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda and Typhoon Ruby that hit parts of Iloilo Province. The Monsanto Fund donated a total of PhP16.8 million to improve the lives of 2,200 farmers in the province.
“We partnered with Gawad Kalinga because we were aiming for our project to have a holistic approach towards achieving our beneficiaries’ overall well-being. Gawad Kalinga incorporates livelihood development programs and values formation training in their housing programs,” said Monsanto’s Corporate Engagement Lead Chat Garrido-Ocampo.
Ocampo noted that it has been more than two years since Typhoon Yolanda hit Sara, Iloilo and the residents have successfully rebuilt their lives. “Monsanto has been one with the community immediately after the aftermath of the super typhoon and we are happy to see positive developments.
This just proves time and again that when there is unity combined with the indomitable spirit of the Filipino people, there is nothing that we cannot achieve,” Ocampo said.
About Monsanto Philippines
Monsanto Philippines is a local unit of Monsanto, a Fortune 500 global power company with a diverse portfolio of advanced biotechnology products produced in 404 facilities in 66 countries. To date, Monsanto Philippines has four facilities spread out across the country, which includes its head office in Alabang, a Refuge-in-a-Bag (RIB) Plant and cold warehouse located in Bulacan, and an R&D station in Mindanao. The company also has partnerships with the Philippine government through the Department of Agriculture as well as the local scientific and academic communities in the promotion of modern agricultural biotechnology. To learn more, please visit www.monsanto.ph.
