Japan Hands Over a New Emergency Relief Supplies Storage Warehouse/Training Center to the Palau Red Cross Society
2024/7/26
Made possible through Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project (GGP), a new emergency relief supplies warehouse and training center has been completed and handed over to the Palau Red Cross Society (PRCS) on July 25, 2024. The handover ceremony for the project, titled “The Project for Constructing the New Emergency Relief Supplies Storage Warehouse and Training Center of Palau Red Cross Society,” took place at the facility located in Ngebudel, Airai. The event was attended by His Excellency ORIKASA Hiroyuki, Ambassador of Japan to Palau, His Excellency Surangel S. Whipps Jr., President of the Republic of Palau, Mr. Jefferson Thomas, Chairman of the National Governing Board of PRCS, the PRCS management team, and other guests, who gathered to celebrate this momentous occasion.
Palau is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, as exemplified by Typhoon Surigae in April 2021, which caused extensive damage to infrastructure throughout the country and affected the lives of the people of Palau. The PRCS is the only non-profit humanitarian organization that provides direct and life-saving assistance to those affected by natural disasters.
In light of this, the Government of Japan decided to support the PRCS project as part of Japan’s commitment to assist Palau in disaster preparedness and resilience building. The new facility is not only located close to the NEMO, but also has the capacity to store relief supplies for approximately 300 households. The facility also has a dedicated space for training center, which will be used to conduct disaster management training programs for the general public, in collaboration with the government and other relevant agencies, as the promotion and fostering of citizen volunteers through the PRCS’s outreach activities plays a critical role in improving the country’s disaster preparedness.
“Leaders instil in their people a hope for success and a belief in themselves. Positive leaders empower people to achieve their goals. In the case of disaster response, no matter how many organizations are in place and how much preparation is done, in the end it will all depend on whether or not there are leaders and stakeholders who have a sense of mission, responsibility, accountability, transparency and act on these principles in a disaster situation to minimize the damage to the people of Palau. That is why Japan has decided to provide the financial support to the Palau Red Cross Society as the leading civil society organization in disaster response in Palau,” said Ambassador Orikasa in his remarks.
The Government of Japan launched GGP in 1999 to meet development needs in grassroots activities in Palau. Since then, the Embassy of Japan in Palau has signed 102 grant contracts so far with schools, hospitals, state governments and NGOs. For further information about GGP, contact 488-6455 or visit the Embassy of Japan website at https://www.palau.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/about_ggp.html.
Palau is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, as exemplified by Typhoon Surigae in April 2021, which caused extensive damage to infrastructure throughout the country and affected the lives of the people of Palau. The PRCS is the only non-profit humanitarian organization that provides direct and life-saving assistance to those affected by natural disasters.
In light of this, the Government of Japan decided to support the PRCS project as part of Japan’s commitment to assist Palau in disaster preparedness and resilience building. The new facility is not only located close to the NEMO, but also has the capacity to store relief supplies for approximately 300 households. The facility also has a dedicated space for training center, which will be used to conduct disaster management training programs for the general public, in collaboration with the government and other relevant agencies, as the promotion and fostering of citizen volunteers through the PRCS’s outreach activities plays a critical role in improving the country’s disaster preparedness.
“Leaders instil in their people a hope for success and a belief in themselves. Positive leaders empower people to achieve their goals. In the case of disaster response, no matter how many organizations are in place and how much preparation is done, in the end it will all depend on whether or not there are leaders and stakeholders who have a sense of mission, responsibility, accountability, transparency and act on these principles in a disaster situation to minimize the damage to the people of Palau. That is why Japan has decided to provide the financial support to the Palau Red Cross Society as the leading civil society organization in disaster response in Palau,” said Ambassador Orikasa in his remarks.
The Government of Japan launched GGP in 1999 to meet development needs in grassroots activities in Palau. Since then, the Embassy of Japan in Palau has signed 102 grant contracts so far with schools, hospitals, state governments and NGOs. For further information about GGP, contact 488-6455 or visit the Embassy of Japan website at https://www.palau.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/about_ggp.html.