SM Foundation Inc., together with Japanese clothing company Uniqlo, brought smiles to residents of SM Cares Villages when they distributed food packs to almost 900 families in Bogo City in Cebu, Concepcion in IloIlo, Ormoc City and Tacloban City.
receiving their food packs from SM Foundation, Inc.
Like most communities across the country and the world, these beneficiaries are homebound to do their part in the mitigation of the Covid-19 pandemic, and were grateful to receive kilos of rice, cup noodles, cans of sardines and tuna and bottles of distilled water.
The SM Foundation and Uniqlo Philippines responded to the needs of SM Cares Village residents since most earn a living day to day, and unable to do so because of the enhanced community quarantine which local governments in Visayas put in place.
foundation had not forgotten them.
“Thank you SM Foundation and Uniqlo for bringing these relief packs to our place,” said Neralyn Montejo, one of the beneficiaries of the SM Cares Village in Bogo. “Thank you for not abandoning us during this time of crisis.”
It can be recalled that SM Cares Villages were built to help survivors of 2013’s Super Typhoon Yolanda to rebuild their lives. The villages are a joint undertaking of SM and its service providers, tenants, business partners, employees and communities.
The first SM Cares Village was turned over to 200 beneficiaries on November 9, 2014 in Bogo City, Cebu. This was followed by SM Cares Villages in Concepcion, Iloilo (200 houses), Tacloban (400 houses) and Ormoc City (200 houses).
The disaster-resilient houses were given to the beneficiaries for free, with SM working with several NGO partners for its community development, including livelihood and values-formation activities.
Each village has utilities, basic amenities like street lights, as well as a community center and a basketball court. There are also chapels and convenience stores for residents.
Besides the houses, the SM Cares Villages are fitted with amenities such as street lamps, sewage treatment plants, materials recovery facilities, rain-catchment systems and provisions for water and electricity.