Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)

Typhoon Haiyan affected almost 15 million people in the Philippines, including five million children. After providing urgent relief in the immediate aftermath of the storm, World Vision is now working to help families get back on their feet.

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In the three months after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the central Philippines, more than half a million people received food, water, soap, water containers, and other basics for survival from World Vision.

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The focus after Haiyan is helping families and communities to rebuild.

Top priorities include restoring livelihoods, reconstructing homes, protecting children, and rebuilding community infrastructure. “We’re now working toward helping families get back on their feet for the longer term,” says Mike Weickert, response manager for World Vision. “We are ready to help equip survivors with new skills to earn an income, help families repair and rebuild their homes, and fix broken schools and healthcare centers.”

In the first 90 days after the storm, World Vision supplied 680,575 people with food aid and other emergency goods. Shelter kits with tarpaulins and ropes equipped 13,605 families to put up temporary roofs and walls. In locations where markets were restored soon after the storm, World Vision partnered with the World Food Programme to provide cash grants to Haiyan survivors. Some 67 million pesos (nearly $1.5 million) were distributed to more than 52,000 beneficiaries.

“In the next phase of our response, as local markets work more effectively, we will see more cash-for-work projects. This will allow us to be more effective and will give beneficiaries choices in the items they purchase,” Mike says.

Children recovering from psychological impact of the storm

In 60 villages, World Vision opened safe places for some 20,000 children to gather for activities to boost their recovery from the psychological impact of the storm. This is important not only for the children, but also for their parents as they begin to realise the impact of the storm not only in terms of the physical destruction.

“When children arrived, they were afraid. Living through and watching the devastation of Haiyan hit them hard emotionally,” says Patrick Sooma, who manages World Vision’s programming for children in emergencies. “Over the course of nearly three months, by attending the daily sessions, we saw children overcome their stress — smiles returned and play rekindled.”

Jake William Cabatingan, 2, would often break into tears when the wind became strong or the sky grew cloudy. In the weeks after the typhoon, Jake was taken to World Vision’s Child-Friendly Spaces set up in his village. It has helped him rebound, his mom says. He’s one of the thousands of children who have been transformed by the Child-Friendly Spaces set up in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.

“When they arrived a few months ago, they looked shocked. They were afraid, hesitant. They weren’t happy. They watched their houses fall down and their schools get destroyed. Their faces were hopeless,” says Annie Rose Labra, a Child-Friendly Space facilitator in north Cebu. “Children have returned to normal, they’re happy again.”