On December 16, Typhoon Rai (called Odette in the Philippines) hit the island of Siargao with winds exceeding 300 km/h.The island was devastated, and tens of thousands of inhabitants were left homeless, in the middle of the rainy season.
Solidarity to respond to the emergency
Abandoned by international NGOs during the first two weeks following the typhoon, the island could only count on the mobilization of associations, local businesses and individuals invested outside and inside the island to organize the supply of drinking water, food and medicine to the population.
From the first days following the passage of the typhoon, our organization has done everything possible to respond to the emergency by participating in humanitarian aid alongside its partners.
Our mission adapts and evolves
For the past two months, Tristan, Leah and Sofia, our team members on the ground, along with dozens of volunteers, have been organizing humanitarian missions to bring aid to the population of Siargao and the neighboring islands.
Distributing water filters, drinking water, food, medicine, and essential equipment, we have chosen to evolve our mission and adapt to this unprecedented context to respond to the emergency.
We have also developed a reconstruction program to support families whose homes have been destroyed. We are currently helping more than 25 families to completely rebuild their homes and have provided material to several dozen others to enable them to renovate their partially destroyed homes.
Finally, we have chosen to participate in various projects led by our local partners. In January, we participated in the financing of the renovation of a dozen fishing boats. This month, we sponsored five farmers to help them restart their agricultural production. For the past two months, we have also been financing a free kitchen for children in the north of the island.
