CSCLF donates 40 houses to typhoon affected S Philippines

China Soong Ching Ling Foundation ( CSCLF), a non-profit foundation, will donate 4.4 million pesos ( about 0.11 million U.S. dollars) for the construction of 40 houses in typhoon disaster areas in Southern Philippines, a senior official of CSCLF said Tuesday.

Li Ning, the secretary general of CSCLF, said in a signing ceremony between the organization and its local partners that Typhoon Bopha had done great damage to the Southern Philippine provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, and one of the most immediate needs there is suitable housing in relocation places.

"We feel sorry for the sufferings of the affected Filipinos, so we want to do something in our capacity to help them. It is the tradition of Chinese to give assistance to people in trouble, and we hope that the affected Filipinos will rebuild their hometown as soon as possible with our little help," Mr. Li said.

According to the Memorandum of Agreement signed with Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation (GK) and KAISA Foundation, the non-profit foundation in the country, CSCLF will give the said funding in the near future to GK and KAISA. The latter two groups are bound to coordinate with the local government of these provinces for the building of the 40 houses.

CSCLF is also considering donating school houses and assisting poor students in the disaster areas with the help of its local partners, Wang Gangyu, a member of CSCLF, told Xinhua.

Typhoon Bopha, which was the most powerful storm to hit Mindanao in more than 100 years, swept through southern Philippines from Dec. 4 to 7, killing 1,060 people and causing massive destruction to houses, public infrastructure and farm land.