A Typhoon ravaged the Philippines a year ago, since then we helped 75,000 people
Published: Nov 6, 2014 Reading time: 6 minutes
Prague, Guiuan (November 6, 2014) - On Saturday, November 8th it will be exactly a year since the typhoon struck on a large part of the Philippines, broke down 1.2 million homes and left four million people without a roof over their heads. It was the strongest typhoon ever to hit the mainland. A year from the ravages of Haiyan typhoon, which hit in total the 15 million Filipinos, there are still 24,780 people homeless and living in evacuation centers, temporary barracks or tents, says UN.
Since then, thanks to the support of hundreds of donors, the Club of Friends of People in Need, charity e-shop and the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the UN still 475,000 people, or 95,000 households live in substandard and often dangerous dwellings. An even bigger problem is the fact that the typhoon has cut off six million Filipinos from the source of their livelihood. People in Need, therefore, with the support of Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also focused on restoring livelihoods for 445 of the most vulnerable households.
The typhoon took my sewing machine, the main source of my livelihood
One of the supported was 72 year-old widow Agripina Olorvida, who has the only tailor shop in the area and repairs neighbors´ clothes and often school uniforms for local teachers and children. "When the typhoon struck, I was trying to hide under the table and I was almost hit by a falling coconut tree. The typhoon completely flushed my house and took away my sewing machine, which is the main source of my income, "she recalls.
Damage by the Haiyan typhoon in the Philippines
"After the typhoon, I spent my modest savings on basic things and livelihood. No money was left for the restoration of my business, "said Agripina Olorvida. At that moment, PIN started its project on support for the most vulnerable parts of the population. "Together with the community, we chose households that had limited options on how to deal with the aftermath of typhoon themselves. Those were the elderly, single mothers or families with many children," said program coordinator in the Philippines PIN Denisa Bultasová.
Among the choosen was Agripina Olorvida, who had to develop a simple business and investment plan to rebuild her tailor's workshop. "Based on the approved plan she got 9000 Philippine pesos, which is approximately 200 USD, for which she bought a new sewing machine, fabric and other small workshop equipment," says Denise Bultasová. Agripina also participated in training in basic business skills and leadership of a small enterprise organized by PIN in cooperation with the local university.
"I learned how to better plan my finances, such as how to keep track of costs and revenues, or how to save some money. I also improved access to customers," said Agripina Olorvida, adding that without the help of PIN she would not be able to get back on her feet. Now she earns the equivalent of around 3 USD a day and she wants to teach her children how to sew to continue in the business.
However, PIN´s Training also focused on how to increase the resilience of livelihoods to climate change or any natural disasters. "Next time, when the typhoon will be close, I will trench the sewing machine into the ground, so it can not be taken away and destroyed," plans Agripina Olorvida.
I like the new school, because it is spacious
The Filipino People in Need team also focuses on restoring education. After the the typhoon, schools were twice as damaged compared to other public buildings, and in a third of the villages they were totally dysfunctional. In Eastern Samar the typhoon destroyed 168 schools, the vast majority of which lacked a roof, and therefore had to be repaired quickly.
"Ensuring safe spaces for education was PIN´s priority also because the children quickly needed a place where they could meet and gradually cope with the aftermath," says program coordinator Ludek Svoboda, who is responsible for the schools reconstruction in the Philippines.
In the first phase, the PIN team with the help of locals provisionally roofed the schools and cleared away the rubble and broken trees from their surroundings. Later, the workers started with qualitatively better and more durable reconstruction of school buildings – they have provided them with new roofs, solidified roof structure, equipped rooms with doors and windows, and built new toilets. Now schools are repaired completely.
"By October, thanks to the SOS Philippines fundraising, we managed to repair 89 classes in nineteen schools. Thus, over 3100 children can return to their seats in their school benches. By the end of the year, we are going to completely refurbish an additional 39 classrooms in 16 schools so an additional 1300 children will have a new school," says Ludek Svoboda. The Czech embassy in Manila contributed on the part of the equipment of classrooms such as chairs, teaching department, boards and benches.
"I like the new classroom, because it is airy and spacious," says schoolgirl Shane Reila of Alingarogu. Parents also applaud the new school. "I am glad that People in Need built a new school in our village, because now children are more secure and are less prone to coughs and colds, from which they often suffered when they had been taught in tents," says the father of two children.
Public Works helped restart the local economy
In the first months after the disaster, PIN helped most vulnerable people through the “money for the work” program. People shoveled ruins and fallen trees from public areas, agricultural land and roads, built latrines or repaired schools. For the work, they got money, and thus they could purchase what they needed most and at the same time supported local merchants.
"In the total, 6649 people were involved in the public works, and another 974 most vulnerable people such as women, the elderly or people with disabilities received from us direct financial assistance," said regional coordinator for Asia PIN Petr Drbohlav. "Most people spent the money on food for them or they bought construction materials to repair houses," he adds.
The Philippines has been recovering quickly from the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan, however full recovery will take years. "The priority remains infrastructure reconstruction, because it is crucial to maintain social and economic activity in damaged areas. The repair of houses and restoration of sustainable livelihoods are also important," says Petr Drbohlav. “The Philippines is also plagued by typhoons often, so it is important to make people more resistant to any disaster," says Peter Drbohlav. He added that People in Need had organized workshops in the villages, aiming at sharing best approaches to protecting livelihoods from climate change.
People in Need in the Philippines
Immediately after the typhoon People In Need released 500,000 crowns (app. 23 thousand USD) to help disaster victims, while announcing a public coection SOS Philippines from a humanitarian fund Club of Friends of People in Need. PIN´s five-member humanitarian team arrived to the affected area quickly and distributed food and material assistance. In the second phase the team began to organize public works, and repair homes, schools and clinics. Now the team is focusing on rebuilding devastated trades and repairing schools in Eastern Samar and on the adjacent islands. The assistance is coordinated from PIN’s permanent office in Guiuan.
To date, people sent 19,528,374 crowns to the SOS Philippines account (app. 874 thousands USD). We thank the thousands of donors who contributed to the humanitarian collection. We especially thank Vodafone Foundation, the City Council, and the Prague and Avast Endowment Fund who are the largest private donors to SOS Philippines account.