Aid to Refugees of Storms, Floods, and Violence

Dear Friends,

In the central and southern Philippines, coastal communities continue to bear the brunt of increasingly severe typhoons. The region of Mindanao—already among the most underserved areas in Southeast Asia—has faced repeated flooding and storm surges that have devastated the fragile infrastructure of waterfront elementary schools.

Thanks to your continued support, Asia America Initiative (AAI) and our dedicated local partners have responded swiftly to the urgent needs of more than 16 key schools. In Sulu Province alone, they include Salih Yusah, Badjao, Ikih, Kabukan, and Pag-Asinan Elementary Schools. These schools have become vital learning centers for children in marginalized communities. Each has suffered structural damage to classrooms, sanitation facilities and access walkways due to the latest series of typhoons in 2024-25.

Our priority has been to rebuild—not just with speed, but with strength and care. With your help, we have supplied essential construction materials, including marine-grade plywood, concrete mix, galvanized roofing, nails, hammers, and carpentry tools. We are reinforcing classrooms to withstand future storms while also ensuring children can return to safe and functional learning spaces as quickly as possible.

Local parents, teachers, and even older students have stepped up as community builders. In Badjao Elementary, volunteer fathers with carpentry skills have constructed new classroom walls and replaced damaged roofs. In Kabukan, mothers and school staff worked together to clean up debris and clear blocked water channels. In Ikih and Pag-Asinan, community teams have helped to elevate school floors to prevent floodwaters from entering classrooms.

To safeguard health, AAI continues to provide many gallons of disinfectant, rubber boots, face masks, gloves, and cleaning tools to help mitigate outbreaks of waterborne disease. As always, we share communal mealscooked by students' Moms and Grand Moms during workdays—creating a spirit of unity and healing in times of distress.

Every nail, every bag of cement, every brushstroke of paint has been possible because of you. Your donations, whether large or small, go directly into materials and logistics that make an immediate impact. Thanks to your compassion and timely giving, children are returning to school filled with hope and resilience, surrounded by communities that refuse to give up.

We continue to believe in the strength of rebuilding in place, preserving family roots and local identity. When children see their school rise from the floodwaters, stronger than before, they also learn that recovery is possible—and that they are not forgotten.

Thank you for standing with us.

If you would like to add to your support, or begin a monthly donation, please click on the link below.

Aid to Refugees of Storms, Floods, and Violence

Albert Santoli, Director

Asia America Initiative

Links:

• Asia America Website