Hungarian Reformed Church Aid Medical Team Deployed to the Philippines
2013. november 11., hétfőA medical team from the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA) deployed to the Philippines on 11 November following the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in order to deliver medical equipment and 15,000 dollars-worth of aid. The HRCA has been keeping an eye on the situation from the beginning and prior to leaving communicated their capacity to the UN.
The team, made up of eight doctors, left Hungary on Monday for the city of Tacloban, where they will work from a fully equipped medical tent. The HRCA's aid package contains medical equipment, medicine, bandages and infusions. The secondary aim of the mission is to assess the needs and possibilities that may arise in the rebuilding process. According to the Philippine government, an estimated 10,000 people have died in the disaster.
The Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH) recently received word from the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), a fellow member church of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. In their update, Rev. Levilou Amora, program coordinator of UCCP in the East Visayas area said, "As of now, it is hard for us to determine the extent of the damage in many areas affected by the typhoon as we have yet to receive data from our church-based disaster response units."
"We are still reeling from the impact of the recent earthquake in Bohol and now we have another big whammy," he said. Amora added that response capabilities and available resources in the Philippines are overextended meaning if another natural disaster of this magnitude occurs before the end of the year, the country's economic problems will deepen and many people will suffer from hunger and despair.
The RCH is also in contact with the Christian Reformed Church in the Philippines through several partner churches with local connections in the country in an atempt to determine the situation facing churches in the aftermath of the typhoon.
Iván Schmelczer MD, lecturer and researcher of the University of Debrecen, Medical- and Health Science Center, is the medical team leader. Members of the team include general doctors (surgeons), surgical assistants, an anesthetist and medical assistants. The HRCA is a registered member of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent's CoC programme.
The Church Aid has started a disaster relief collection in local RCH congregations that will go toward recovery in the Philippines.
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