GLOBAL carrier Korean Air held an outreach program in Medellin, Cebu over the weekend.
Instead of holding their annual Christmas party, Ann Momongan, passenger sales supervisor of Korean Air Cebu, said the company extended help to 250 families in Barangay Dalingding, Medellin who survived typhoon Yolanda more than a month ago.
Momongan said the relief goods distributed in the barangay were valued at more than P100,000. The outreach program also involved Korean Air’s partner travel agencies and was sponsored by the Cebu Tours and Travel Association, Leisure and Cebu Bakers Association.
The company, in a press statement, said the relief efforts provided to the calamity-stricken areas were meant to help the Visayas region speed up its recovery and rehabilitation.
Korean Air earlier provided relief goods worth over 106 million South Korean won to typhoon survivors. Goods delivered to the country included 60,000 liters of mineral water, 60,000 noodle cups, 24,000 cups of dried rice and 2,000 blankets.
The first tranche of relief goods was delivered to Cebu Province via the KE631 flight from Seoul/Incheon last Nov. 22. It continued to deliver goods to social welfare organizations in the country for one week.
Koreans have composed the largest group of tourists in Cebu for several years.
As of September this year, a total of 395,368 Koreans have visited Cebu, up by 24.71 percent from last year’s 317,018 arrivals.
The airline was also instrumental in providing relief aid after past calamities such as in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 and Japan earthquake in 2011.
Korean Air, established in 1969, is one of the world’s top 20 airlines and carried more than 24 million passengers in 2012. Korean Air operates at least 200 flights per day to 126 cities in 45 countries, with a fleet of 156 aircraft, including eight A380s.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on December 28, 2013.
