-Memorial service held at disaster site-

February 17 is the date that the villagers of Guinsaugon cannot forget as the date of devastating landslide a year a go. Guinsaugon village is located in the southern part of Leyte Island in the central Philippines. The disaster was catastrophic: claimed the lives of 154 people, 972 were reported missing, and 281 houses and 1 elementary school were buried in mud.

Guinsaugon only at village 3/4 of its inhabitants were lost. In a fear of another landslide, the government decided to relocate the people still remaining in Guinsaugon and seven other villages.



Although the construction of new houses is on-going, many people are still living in shelters under difficult conditions. The scars of the disaster are still evident in the region.

A memorial service was held on the 17th at the disaster site, where 5000 villagers including visitors gathered. A ceremony was held at 'Ground Zero', overlooking the whole area. The participants then walked across the river to a farm closer to the actual disaster site to pray for the victims.

One of the participants, Josephine Sansol, who lost her husband and two children in the landslide, said, 'The psychological care workshop held by the Philippines National Red Cross helped me a lot to recover from the disaster. My counselor, Ms. Rose, took care of me even after the session, and I really appreciate that.' Her hope, she said, 'is to reopen my small shop'.



Today, construction work is well underway in the resettlement area to provide those survivors with durable houses. The Philippines National Red Cross Society is planning to provide further 130 houses to Guinsaugon village and 191 more to neighboring villages, with the support from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement.

The Japan Red Cross is extending its hand to rehabilitate local infrastructure, such as schools, health centers, and community centers. These facilities will help the people for their smooth resettlement. In particular, people expect to have solid buildings for schools to be used for shelter in case of typhoons and other natural disasters in future. The Japanese Red Cross is also supporting the PNRC's efforts to improve local health services by renovating the building of the Anahawan Hospital,which treated many victims following the disaster and provided medical supplies to neighboring health centers and hospitals.