On November 19th, AMDA Headquarters will be sending its second coordinator from Japan for the ongoing relief work currently being conducted in quake-hit Mindanao in the Philippines. The coordinator will be joining aid work scheduled from the 22nd in four districts of Makilala in Cotabato Province.
In response to the frequent quakes that shook the island in mid-October, AMDA dispatched its first batch of relief team to Cotabato with its counterparts AMDA Philippines and Women in National Development Security (WiNDS). The joint team provided relief supplies in Kinarum (Magpet) and Makilala while assisting a local hospital operation in the region.
The two coordinators from Japan are originally from Okayama Kurashiki Pilipino Circle (OKPC), an organization formed by Filipino-Japanese residents residing in Okayama and Kurashiki. Until now, OKPC has collaborated with AMDA on a number of occasions such as disaster relief and cultural exchange events.
For the planned relief work, medical personnel from local medical school and university hospital will also partake in the joint effort.
As of November 19th, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 23 people died, 563 people were injured and 11 people have been missing. The afflicted population has topped 320,000 and more than 100,000 people have been displaced.