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CARE to activate as recovery begins
A non-profit organization whose origin stems from the onslaught of 2015’s Typhoon Soudelor is being re-activated as recovery from Super Typhoon Yutu continues in the CNMI.
Commonwealth Advocates for Recovery Efforts board vice chair Lauri Ogumoro told Saipan Tribune yesterday that the organization would once again be activated as recovery from Yutu begins.
On Monday, CARE received a $300,000 donation from TanHoldings Corp. and its charitable arm, the TSL Foundation.
“We are always active,” Ogumoro said. “We already have a group going around, we are already talking about what we are going to do, and right now we need to wait for the immediate disaster recovery to finish.,”
According to Ogumoro, CARE would be focusing on individuals who either did not receive enough support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or are unqualified to be assisted by FEMA.
“…CARE fills in the gaps,” she said. “That is kind of our role.”
CARE ended its long-term recovery efforts for Typhoon Soudelor only in August 2018. Altogether, about 600 homes were built by the organization, all for less than $1 million, Ogumoro noted.
She said the $300,000 donation from the TSL Foundation and TanHoldings Corp. last Monday “is a huge step in the direction of the rebuilding of homes and lives.”
Oguomoro said it would be ideal for the organization if the CNMI Legislature gets involved.
“Hopefully, we get money from the Legislature because $300,000 for thousands of damaged homes is an incredible amount of money to start the process, but we know that it took more than that to take care of Soudelor-damaged homes,” she said.
She further noted that CARE addresses the needs of residents on a case-by-case system—the amount of assistance depends on the amount of damage and the needs of the applicant.
