Food and Shelter for Philippine Typhoon Survivors

Food and Water are essential for Life and Learning.  They are the staple provisions to public schools supported by Asia America Initiative. Many areas of Visayas, Philippines were devastated in late 2013 by 200 mile-per-hour winds, floods and surging tidal waves caused by the historic typhoon Haiyan.  Many communities are still in the midst of a difficult recovery, including hundreds of schools.  Although we cannot help everyone, we set realistic goals. Our objective Number One:  Be consistent with food and water for at least ten schools with around 2,500 childen per day or 10,000 lunches and clean water per week. Number Two:  Assist parents and local farming and fishing coops regain their self-reliance as food providers for their communities.  We now call this innovative but practical program "Mom and Dads to the Rescue" [where government fails].

According to the United Nations and Red Cross, during the first half of 2015, some 3 million persons remain internally displaced or destitute from the late-2013 storm that swept across the central Philippine islands.  Government support has been inconsistent and foreign organizations have mostly departed after running out of funds needed to assist millions of people per month.  Asia America Initiative is still in the midst of providing meaningful support with the aid of impoverished school children's parents, thanks to three factors: Consistent donors such as from our friends at Global Giving; strict budgeting and oversight; and community action with everyone working together to do their fair share of work and sacrifice for the good of their children.  

Catig-Lacadon Elementary School in Duenas, Iloilo.has 190 pupils on a steep hilltop surrounded by forests.  6 months after Typhoon Haiyan most children at the school were malnourished and clean water was severely lacking.   Principal Rowena Ortizo says,  "Our community has always been made of simple farm laborers who have been satisfied with the basic neccesseties of life.  But Typhoon Haiyan dealt us a terrible blow that took even our modest comforts and destroyed our farm fields and water wells, denying us the ability to feed ourselves properly.  Being is the remote countryside we received no international aid or support except from Asia America Initiative.  Because AAI staff is made of local people, especially Nurse Faith Dela Torre, their leadership in Washington such as Mr. Santoli became familiar with our difficult situation.  When he heard our story, AAI did not turn their backs to the needs of our children and community.  They did not have much money, either.  But they asked us what we needed and the parents were willing to work hard to do the labor to rebuild and mothers volunteered to cook school lunches every day."  

The entire school year, AAI kept our promise to provide funds to buy fresh vegetables and chickens and eggs for daily school meals.  Vitamins and milk were also distributed at least tweice per week.  AAI's Nurse Faith bought weight scales with Global Giving donated funds to do monthly charting of all children's weight and height. By the end of the 2014-15 school year, thanks to "Moms to the Rescue" backed with funds raised by AAI through Global Giving, less than one percent of children had malnutrition in the school.  

In the new 2015-16 school year, our goal is to have no malnutrition at Catig-Lacadon and in six additional schools in the surrounding rural area.  School gardens are being planted  by parents.  And a partnership between AAI and the Philippine Department of Agriculture has provided farming tools, irrigation hoses and workshops in organic gardening attended by close to 100 parents.  The weekend of May 30, 2015 following the organic gardening workshop, the local mayor loaned a water buffalo to each of 3 schools in Duenas District who had received the Department of Agriculture and AAI training. 

"The people may have suffered a  terrible blow," observes nurse Faith, "but they have pride and love for each other.  AAI treats everyone with equal respect and our donors like Global Giving encouraged them not to give up. As a result, they have risen to the occasion."

Links:

• Asia America Initiative web site
• Asia America Initiative Facebook page