What the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS did for the Visayas

CHURCH of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints allotted $1.4 million for basic needs right after Supertyphoon Yolanda.

After Super Typhoon Yolanda hit the Visayas, the country received an enormous amount of support from different parts of the world. Filipinos were moved by this generosity and thanked those who helped in any way they can.

For their part, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS, or also known as Mormons) immediately sent food and hygiene kits to church members in affected areas. They worked closely with the local government and other organizations in the assessment of the situation and distribution of relief goods.

The church also extended help to non-members through LDS Charities.

The LDS Charities manages the humanitarian aspect of the church and all of the members around the world are involved, one-way or the other.

Sister Linda Burton, president of Relief Society General Presidency of the LDS says, The church is trying to do what it did in Haiti years ago (and until now) by teaching people self-reliance. To achieve that, we try to help people find education that will lead to a job.

She, however, notes that Filipinos are quick to recover from the tragedy compared to other disaster-stricken areas the church has visited and helped.

But before setting up the livelihood programs, they first need to build shelters. At present, the group has built more than 1,000 shelters. Their aim is 3,000 by the end of May.

Right after the typhoon hit, we allotted $1.4 million for basic needs such as food, water and hygiene kits, says Brent Nielson, of LDS Philippines Area Presidency. Once everything calmed down a little bit, we assessed the needs of our members and found out that 3,000 families were homeless. Thats when we decided to help begin building shelters.

The group already started teaching the idea of self-reliance by involving them in shelter building. The church provided construction materials and tools while families helped in building them.

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What the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS did for the Visayas