Photo credits: Rueda Rey and SCAN International
(Eagle News) – In response to the recent earthquakes that hit Japan, the Iglesia Ni Cristo has extended its assistance to the quake-affected regions, particularly in the island of Kysuhu.
“Aid to Humanity” or “Lingap sa Mamamayan” activities were held in Kumamoto City in Kyushu where INC volunteers distributed emergency relief packages consisting of bottled water, canned goods, noodles, cookies, coffee, tea, toiletries and diapers.
INC Executive Minister Brother Eduardo V. Manalo had immediately sent instructions for Church members and volunteers – including those coming from the INC’s Central Office in the Philippines — to immediately help in the area and provide assistance to the quake victims.
The INC has an extension locale in Kumamoto.
INC General Auditor Glicerio Santos Jr., said that upon instructions from Brother Eduardo, the Church immediately organized relief efforts for the quake victims in Japan, particularly the residents of Kyushu island.
“We are doing everything we can to ease the lives of the quake victims. The assistance is, of course, intended for everyone affected by the tragedy, INC member or not, Japanese citizen or otherwise. The need to help transcends religious beliefs and nationality,” Santos said in a statement.
“The Japanese government was very effective in mobilizing its manpower support services, so the INC decided that relief goods of food, water and basic hygiene necessities were the best way we could help, as well as cash donations,” Santos said.
INC’s relief efforts were coordinated under the auspices of the Felix Y. Manalo Foundation.
Japanese embassy officials in the Philippines also recently visited the INC Central Office in Quezon City to thank INC representatives for their response to help the quake victims.
They met with Dr. Sergie Santos of the FYM Foundation.
In a statement on the Japanese embassy’s website, the Japanese government thanked all those who offered to extend help to the quake victims in Kumamoto.
“In response to the message of support and offers of assistance, the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines expresses its sincere appreciation for the heartfelt messages of sympathies and for the many offers of assistance being extended to those who have suffered in recent devastating earthquake centered in the Kumamoto region. The government of Japan, together with the related organs, is doing its utmost efforts to provide rapid emergency support and recovery in the region,” the statement from the Japanese embassy in Manila read.
Two major earthquakes and about 600 smaller tremors had rocked the southwestern island of Kyushu, leaving a total of 46 people dead and more than 1,000 injured — 208 of them seriously — in Japan’s worst humanitarian disaster in five years.
Many who abandoned their damaged or destroyed homes have had to sleep in temporary accommodation, huddle in makeshift shelters or even sleep in their cars, and local media have reported problems in delivering food and other essentials as well as raising health concerns.
Through the years, the INC, through its Aid to Humanity or “Lingap sa Mamamayan” efforts, has been helping victims of calamities and disasters in the Philippines and abroad. (Eagle News Service)