Building a resilient Philippines - Typhoon Haiyan 3 years on
Building a resilient Philippines - Typhoon Haiyan 3 years on
Three years ago to the day, Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines and left absolute devastation in its wake. Typhoon Haiyan claimed the lives of more than 6,000 people and around 1.9 million people were left homeless.
As soon as the typhoon struck, we were on the ground providing instant aid to those who needed it most – children and their families. We provided safe shelter during the relief to 170,000 people. However, our work didn’t end there. Three years later and we’re still working in the region to support long-term recovery and rehabilitation. To date, we’ve reached more than 1.3 million people. Here we take a look at our ongoing work and the impact we’ve had on children’s lives in the Philippines thanks to our supporters’ generous donations.
Getting children back to school
And keeping them safe
As soon as Typhoon Haiyan struck, we set up child-friendly spaces so children had a safe place to play and recover from the trauma of the typhoon. We also worked alongside the government and schools to repair damaged classrooms and provided children with back-to-school kits.
We reconstructed new classrooms and school building to ensure they are disaster resilient and trained teachers and parents on how to keep children safe when disasters strike.
Our supporters helped us ensure that more than 44,000 children now have access to an education.
Keeping children safe from violence
After a disaster, children are more at risk of violence, abuse and exploitation – especially girls. More than 200,000 children, parents and local partners were given life skills and child protection awareness to mitigate the risk. We also worked with the government to prevent trafficking and child labour and provided workshops to law enforcers on how to prevent and respond to child protection issues.
Providing clean water and sanitation
Initially, during the immediate relief of Typhoon Haiyan, we distributed water kits, water tanks and promoted the importance of sanitation in preventing disease. We also constructed communal and household toilets and repaired water systems so children and their communities have access to safe and clean drinking water.
Our supporters helped us reach 300,000 people with access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
Supporting health services
We constructed and repaired health clinics in hard to reach communities, we supplied tools and nutritional assessments and medical supplies to health facilities, and trained health care and maternal health care workers to reach remote communities.
Our supporters helped us provide 22,000 people with essential health and nutrition care and services.
Helping young people earn a living
In the aftermath of a disaster, people’s livelihoods or employment opportunities are affected, suspended and often destroyed. We helped vulnerable young people out of school and in difficult situations and families get back on their feet and earn a living. We provided courses that included welding, computer hardware servicing, electrical installation, call centre and housekeeping. We also enhanced their skills helping to make them more employable, by providing financial literacy, digital skills and family planning. We provided capital so families could start their own businesses. And helped farmers and fishermen diversify their techniques in agriculture and fishery to adapt to the effects of climate change, making their businesses more sustainable.
Our supporters helped us provide 700,000 families and young people with employment opportunities and restored and diversified their livelihoods.
Children plant mangroves. Mangroves provide disaster protection from typhoon winds and the removal of atmospheric greenhouse gases that cause climate change 
Children practice evacuating a school during a disaster drill
Preparing families for future disasters
The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to natural disasters. We’re preparing children and families to be better prepared and to keep safe for the next disaster by conducting simulation drills at schools and in villages and conducting workshops for emergency response teams – giving them the knowledge and skills they need to save lives in an emergency. We also advocated for a new law that prepares, protects and listens to children in emergencies called the Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection Act. The Act is the first of its kind in Asia and also seeks to protect children against violence and trafficking, and improve systems for tracing and reuniting children with their families.
Our supporters helped us train more than 26,000 families, children and local partners to better prepare for and reduce the impact for the next disaster
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