A Beneficiary of Our Cash Transfer Program Is Now Able to Prepare Quality Meals for Her Family

As the world’s leading hunger specialist, we prioritize vulnerable families and individuals who are more at risk to not only hunger and malnutrition, but are also susceptible to it’s causes—such as poverty, diseases, disasters or even conflicts. For example, most of our beneficiaries for cash-based interventions are identified through nutrition-focused targeting; like Sittie Palao –one of the beneficiaries for our Marawi Crisis response four years ago.

#ThrowbackThursday: 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗲 𝗔𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗼 is a mother of 3 from the Municipality of Buadiposo Buntong, Lanao del Sur which back in December 2017 was greatly affected by #TyphoonTembin. Their municipality is also host to internally displaced persons from the #MarawiSiege.

At the time, Sittie and her husband’s source of income was halted due to the impacts of the typhoon. To make matters more challenging for them, Sittie and two of her children were suffering from malnutrition.

Because of this, Action Against Hunger supported Sittie’s family in restoring their livelihoods through our cash transfer program. On February 2019, Sittie received cash assistance amounting to 7,000 pesos, in addition to 3 rounds of food aid. They were also referred to the regional health unit for treatment using the Ready-to-use Therapeutic and Supplementary Food (RUTF and RUSF).

A month after, Sittie shared that with the food aid given, she is now able to prepare quality meals for her family and that unlike before they no longer eat just once a day.

Through these types of interventions, we hope to empower more women like to take control of their health and nutrition, at the same time enabling them to provide for themselves and their families.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗲’𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆:
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/…/nutrition-focused-program…/

COVID-19 Emergency WASH Assistance for Conflict and Earthquake Affected in Mindanao

Our efforts to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 continues as our field teams distributed hygiene and cleaning kits last January 18 to 21.

A total of 4,269 beneficiaries from evacuation centers and transitory sites across selected areas in Lanao del Sur and North Cotabato were reached.

With funding from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the distributions were conducted as part of our COVID-19 Emergency WASH Assistance for conflict and earthquake affected families in Mindanao.

It’s been more than a year since the first COVID case in the Philippines was reported, and now the country is recorded to have more than 500,000 cases to date. We are continuously engaging communities to practice safety measures against the coronavirus through our hygiene promotion sessions, especially now that the new COVID variant is present in the country.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲:
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/consistency-key-to-fighting-…

There is No One-Size-Fits-All in Humanitarian Action for Families Recovering from Natural Disasters

Families recovering from natural disasters have different needs. While most will need food and water, other essentials are shelter and livelihood recovery. There is no one-size-fits-all in humanitarian action.

Since 2013, we have been leading cash-based assistance to people affected by emergencies in the Philippines. Technically called Multi-purpose Cash Transfers (MPCT), our most recent Emergency Response projects for people affected by #TyphoonRolly and #TyphoonUlysses are using this assistance method to provide our beneficiaries choice and flexibility depending on their priorities.

Cash assistance has also the added benefit of supporting local markets and introducing people to financial institutions.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸:
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/what-we-do/

Stories from the Field: Francisco Arago

Francisco Arago almost lost everything. His source of income is raising pigs and doing carpentry work but he was barely earning enough. Carpentry work only comes along about every 3 months and pig-raising can be hit or miss. On occasion, when work is scarce and the pig’s weight too low to sell, he asks for food from his siblings.

When #typhoonulyssesPH made landfall in his community in Solana, Cagayan on November 11, 2020, this brought about heavy flooding that destroyed his bed and greatly damaged his home.

To help recover what he lost, Francisco was given 5,200 pesos cash assistance through our Multi-purpose Cash Transfer program. This is part of our Humanitarian Assistance to #TyphoonVamco Affected Communities in Region II, which is supported by EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid – ECHO and co-implemented with Plan International PhilippinesCARE Philippines, and ACCORD Incorporated.

 

Multi-Purpose Cash Transfer (MPCT) program in Cagayan Valley

“Ever since the typhoon damaged my roof, whenever it rains, water seeps inside my house. The money will allow me to finally fix it.”

Jolibeth Maguay and her family was included in our Multi-purpose Cash transfer (MPCT) program that has benefited 4,673 households in Cagayan Valley affected by Typhoon Ulysses. For 2 months, she, her husband, and 8 children endured the leaking roof because the family had no extra income to have it repaired. Her husband, a farm laborer without a stable income source, and Jolibeth, a homemaker who does laundry whenever she can, were barely earning enough for their daily food and hygiene needs.

“I will buy a sack of rice as well because my family has experienced not eating regular meals before.”

Our efforts are made possible through support from EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid – ECHO . This is a consortium project implemented with CARE PhilippinesACCORD Incorporated, and Plan International Philippines.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽:
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/

Rising from poverty: Action Against Hunger co-launches investment fair in Kidapawan City

ARAKAN VALLEY — Faced with the challenge of massive poverty, civil society organizations (CSOs) linked with the Arakan Valley Complex Project Management Office (AVC PMO), Action Against Hunger Philippines, and the Provincial Government of Cotabato in conducting a two-day investment fair, dubbed as the “Arakan Valley Complex and Tulunan Investment Fair” on September 19 and 20, 2019 in Kidapawan City.

Poverty incidence in North Cotabato, of which the Arakan Valley Complex and Tulunan are part, was recorded at 25.6 percent of the population, according to the Philippine Statistic Authority 2018 report.

The underlying factor of poverty in the valley is attributed to the low market price of farm produce, according to Van Cadungon, Provincial Administrator of North Cotabato. Cadungon was the keynote speaker during the opening of the investment fair.

“Farm productivity and market support programs are priority strategies that need to be implemented in the valley to address poverty,” Cadungon said.

“The investment fair resulted from a participatory planning done among the six municipalities where key development projects intended to spur economic growth in the Arakan valley were identified,” said Kerwin Jade Mallorca, the AVC PMO administrator. These projects are in the sectors of Good Governance, Agriculture, Environment, Health, Basic Social Services, Economic, Education, and Water-related Services, and Infrastructures.

The AVC Investment Fair is a two-day activity that is meant to attract social investors in the area of agriculture, trade and commerce, basic social services, and utilities into the Arakan Valley and Tulunan. The Fair incorporates project pitching, site tours, gallery display of investment opportunities, conversations, and cultural events that are intended to generate external interest in the opportunities present in the Arakan Valley and link local social entrepreneurs, governments, and people’s organizations with social investors.

“This is a breakthrough initiative because for the first time we are creating a venue for community leaders and social investors can come together and collaborate towards economic and social development,”

“This is a breakthrough initiative because for the first time we are creating a venue for community leaders and social investors can come together and collaborate towards economic and social development,” said Jules L. Benitez, Head of Project of “Reinforcing, Instituting, and Scaling Up Efficient CSO-LGU Interaction towards Enhanced Local Governance (RISE).”

Reinforcing, Instituting, and Scaling Up Efficient CSO-LGU Interaction towards Enhanced Local Governance (RISE) was funded by the European Union and implemented by Action Against Hunger.

 

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Emergency Assistance to Typhoon Affected Communities in Catanduanes and Albay Province

We are off to a pretty good start this year. Last week, we held our first distributions of hygiene and water kits to 506 families in selected barangays in Baras and San Miguel, Catanduanes.

This is part of our 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗮𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲. We are hoping to reach a total of 900 families for our #TyphoonRolly Response in Catanduanes alone.

Our goal is to provide humanitarian support to 7,930 vulnerable families in Catanduanes and Albay which were affected by the typhoon. Our interventions will include emergency repairs and construction of water and sanitation facilities, more hygiene and water kits distributions, cash assistance, establishing community hand-washing stations, and hygiene promotions through community engagement.

This will be implemented together with our partner, CARE Philippines, with funding from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.

Year 2020 was Twice as Challenging for a 71-year-old

2020 was difficult for all of us, but it was twice as challenging for 71-year-old Merlyn Igaan.

Her community in Sitio Embassi, Barangay Perez in Kidapawan City was badly affected by the series of earthquakes that hit Mindanao in late 2019. Ever since then, she and her family have been living in an evacuation site. Late last year, they had to transfer to another site and build their tent anew because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Earning for a living as a senior citizen is becoming so difficult, especially since the earthquake. Aside from my old age, I am afraid to go back to the farm. I fear that an earthquake might occur again while I’m there,” she said.

Merlyn was one of the 1,200 families from the provinces of Davao Del Sur and North Cotabato had been given cash assistance through our #MindanaoEarthquake Emergency Response last year. This project was funded by EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid – ECHO.

With your support, we can reach more families affected by disasters with our life-saving aid.
𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽:
htttp://actionagainsthunger.ph

Typhoon Rolly Response Kicks Off in Baras and San Miguel

We are off to a pretty good start this year. On January 13-15, we held our first distributions of hygiene and water kits to 506 families in selected barangays in Baras and San Miguel, Catanduanes.

This is part of our 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗮𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲. We are hoping to reach a total of 900 families for our #TyphoonRolly Response in Catanduanes alone.

Our goal is to provide humanitarian support to 7,930 vulnerable families in Catanduanes and Albay which were affected by the typhoon. Our interventions will include emergency repairs and construction of water and sanitation facilities, more hygiene and water kits distributions, cash assistance, establishing community hand-washing stations, and hygiene promotions through community engagement.

Around 13.4 million Filipino Families Considered Themselves Poor According to the 2019 SWS Survey

Around 13.4 million Filipino families considered themselves poor, resulting to the highest self-rated poverty recorded in the last five years according to the 2019 SWS Survey. As poverty has direct effects to food insecurity, the hunger crisis in the Philippines can worsen because of the pandemic.

Now more than ever, we are maximizing our efforts to ensure coverage of the immediate needs of vulnerable families that do not have access to food. With your help. we can provide more food packs, cash distributions, and livelihood support or cash-for-work programs for the communities we are working with.

𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄.
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/call-for-donations/

Photo by Daniel Burgui for Action Against Hunger