Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) - 2 years on

On the 8th November 2013, typhoon Haiyan devastated some of the poorest areas in the Philippines, claiming the lives of at least 6,300 people, with more than 1,000 people still reported as missing. [NDRRMC]

World Vision is one of the few remaining NGOs that have continued work with survivors in their recovery after typhoon Haiyan. Two years on, World Vision continues to work side by side with communities as they move forward from tragedy to redemption; working to replace what was lost with hope, vigor and resilience.

Read the 2 years on report

During this time, World Vision has been working with the most vulnerable, with a focus on children. To date, 1,638,833 people have been reached with World Vision’s assistance.

• 14.1 million people were affected, 5.9 million of this number being children. OCHA
• 4.1 million people were displaced, and 1.1 million homes were damaged or destroyed. OCHA

World Vision’s response – Quick facts

Through assistance packages 1,638,833 people have been reached in the relief, recovery and rehabilitation phases. Some of them benefitting from several programs depending on the severity of their situation.

• 91,115 people have benefited from livelihoods, including livestock distribution, training for alternative livelihoods, business start-up toolkits and community savings groups (COMSCA)
• 100,055  people have directly and indirectly benefitted from cash-for-work.
• 9 local government units received Disaster Risk Reduction assistance. 675,788 people stand to benefit from trainings and early warning search and rescue equipments.
• 11,407 school children stand to benefited from repair/construction of classrooms/temporary learning spaces and distribution of learning kits.
• 66,260 people have benefited from distribution of shelter materials and tool kits, construction of homes and trainings.
• 68,504 people have benefited from hygiene promotion and community-led sanitation initiatives
• 72,063 people have benefited from health interventions including:
  • tools and medical supplies at local health facilities in the area of nutritional assessment
  • replacement equipment for obstetric and maternal care has also been provided to health facilities
  • extensive repair and reconstruction work to health centers and stations

rehabilitation phase

Hope for Tacloban’s Children was created, an initiative designed to create safer, cleaner environments for children to live, play and learn. The project has included cash-for-work, and will assist in the rehabilitation or creation of child-focused community assets. Much needed training and support for income generation will be provideIn the past two months, 14,544 Haiyan survivors have already benefited from the project. Watch a video about this programme

LIVELIHOODS

Haiyan did not only destroy homes and community assets, it also decimated income sources of families. It disrupted value chains and income generation capacities of families in the grassroots level.

Some 5.9 million people had their livelihoods ruined or disrupted. 
World Vision has provided support for the production of crops, including distribution of agricultural inputs and tools. 91,115 people have benefited from alternative livelihoods, including livestock distributions, vocational training, business start-up toolkits and community savings groups (COMSCA).

In an evaluation survey in 2015, one-fifth of therespondents felt that they were able to fully meet their top 3 household expenditure needs. Further monitoring revealed that by August 2015, it increased to more than 40 percent of the households.


CASH-FOR-WORK


Cash-for-work are interventions that intend to assist beneficiaries to meet their basic needs while at the same time stimulating local markets before medium- to long-term livelihood solutions are in place.

This activity has been adapted in several World Vision assisted communities to support disaster risk reduction initiatives. This collective activity encourages community ownership of the recovery and rehabilitation process. 

Through cash-for-work, community engagement rises by employing beneficiaries to undertake the repair and reconstruction of their own communal assets.

About 50% of the community leaders interviewed in the end of grant evaluation that people in their communities had carried out World Vision work projects which resulted in much-needed new or improved community assets. The same report revealed that families who engaged in cash-for-work considered the intervention important and timely. The activity covered for many of the beneficiaries’ food and education expenses. To date 20,011 families were engaged by this activity, benefitting a total of 100,055 Haiyan survivors.

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)

For a disaster prone country like the Philippines, the Disaster Risk Reduction strategy of World Vision intends to respond to the acute need for DRR within the country. The organization has been working on supporting local capacity – including local government units (LGUs) and the communities, to be prepared to face the challenges of future disasters. 675,788 people stand to benefit from these initiatives.

Building communities’ capacity to cope and adapt to the negative impact of hazards through structural and non-structural interventions remains a focal concern. Structural interventions may include mangrove rehabilitation, slope stabilisation and drainage system improvements. All will depend on the need and the context of communities. Non-structural interventions will include community level awareness-raising and capacity building.

A report conducted in August 2015 showed that more than half of the respondents considered their household as better prepared for any disaster common in the area than before Typhoon Haiyan. This preparedness has been demonstrated in subsequent typhoons, showing that families are listening to early warning signals and overall experiencing less significant blows as a result of preparedness.