CamSur disaster team joins Team One Bicol

Team Camsur. One of the vehicles used by the CamSur team in their humanitarian mission in Batangas province to help evacuees affected by the Taal Volcano eruptions.

PILI, Camarines Sur – Fifty-one out of the 103-member delegation of Team One Bicol Taal are responders and personnel of Team Camarines Sur who brought with them not just skilled manpower but important logistics to assist ash-stricken communities affected by the on-going Taal Volcano unrest.

Organized by the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Bicol Affairs (OPABA) through Usec. Marvel Clavecilla, the Team One Bicol delegation coordinated closely with the Office of Civil Defense, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Health (DOH), Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH), Philippine National Police (PNP) , Bureau of Fire (BFP), Department of Education (DepEd) , City Government of Legazpi, and Team CamSur.

Team One CamSur consisted of representatives from the provincial government, BFP, DepEd, and Red Tag. Team members consist of nurses, members of psycho-social team who will conduct psycho social intervention, including personnel to assist in camp management and camp coordination, WASH and Solid Waste Management, communication personnel to man the info-link and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and writers and photographers for documentation.

Considering the need for safe, potable water and available food, Team Cam Sur also provided one lorry truck, firetruck, ambulance and one mobile kitchen.

On Sunday, the team left for Batangas and attended on Monday, Jan. 20, the coordination meeting with the department heads of the local government unit of Bauan, Bauan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Response Office and barangay captains and other town officials to discuss the assistance and augmentation needed by evacuees in the camp in Bauan.

Environment Disaster Management and Emergency Response Office (EDMERO) chief Luzena Bermeo said that the need for information system in the camp is critical as this would help track the status of the evacuees.

The introduction and endorsement of the Infolink System will help facilitate the improvement of the information system. Complementing this, Team One Bicol conducted data updating of the evacuees of Bauan Camp through the use of the Disaster Assistance Family Access Card.

This is part of the process of helping improve the information system of the camp to track the status of the evacuees.

The delegation will also provide psychosocial interventions especially for the children and women evacuees. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene habits (WASH) will also be taught to the evacuees to prevent diseases in the camp and to promote positive life-long behaviors in water, sanitation and hygiene that they can apply not only in the camp but more importantly in their homes and communities.

Lastly, the delegation shall also promote proper solid waste management among the camp evacuees. (LSMacatangay, with reports from Esthel Estropia-EDMERO-PIAV/Camarines Sur)