Philippine Flood Relief Fund

Hooray! Thanks to your generous donations our partners Peace Winds America and Asia America Initiative have funded their Typhoon Bopha emergency responses. Because of you, emergency relief was brought to 500 families and counseling and care to 100 children. Peace Winds America and their Philippine local partner Citizen’s Disaster Response Center (CDRC) focused their relief efforts on 5 communities in the Bukidnon province after they realized that most other relief operations were concentrated in the Compostela Valley region. 500 families in the cities of Cabanghan, Bangcud, Campuhan, Batangan and Poblacion received relief goods such as relief packages, shelter and hygiene amenities. These packages contained basic items that can support a family for one week such as: rice, mongo beans, dried fish, sardines, cooking oil, one laundry soap bar, one blanket and one mattress.

In addition to the relief that was brought to 500 families, Peace Winds America helped provide counseling to 100 children in evacuation shelters. Often times, psycho-social support is overlooked in disaster relief because efforts are focused on medical care, food and other basic necessities.  Anxiety was prevalent among many of the children because they had witnessed their homes being swept away by the flood and did not know where they were going to be relocated. Many of the families cannot even return to where their houses once stood because erosion from the flooding took it away. Using different forms of counseling such as conveying their thoughts and feelings through discussions and art, the children were able to better understand their situation and calm their anxieties.

Asia America Initiative served approximately 10,000 families or more than 50,000 persons through GlobalGiving funds of $1,600; $15,000 cash contributions from larger foundations and more than $1.5 million worth of relief supplies, clean water, emergency meals and public health supplies. Your GlobalGiving donations helped send AAI flood relief teams of volunteers, college students and young professions to work with other relief teams of the Philippine military, local government officials and private humanitarian NGOs in the areas of Quezon City, Taquig, Marakina and Laguna. Their concerted efforts provided protective clothing, medicines, blankets, water purification tabs, and hygiene antiseptics as well as rubber boots for more than 1,000 children living in polluted ankle-deep flood waters.

These relief teams are lessening the possibilities of epidemics of waterborne tropical diseases such as dengue fever and leptospirtosis which is a medieval plague cause by rats breeding in garbage and stagnant water. Not only did they create campaigns for epidemic prevention, but they also engaged in other programs that are still going on. These programs include multi-disciplinary education and livelihood programs, donations of nutritional supplies, and efforts to attain clean water filtering systems.

We at GlobalGiving are so thankful for our amazing donors like you! You help to bring real change and solutions to problems that seem like they can never be solved. Tens of thousands of lives have been saved in the Philippines because of you, even a donation as small as $10 has helped to make a difference in the disaster-stricken area. Thank you!!