Within a week after Typhoon Odette made its first landfall in the country, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has since been supporting our emergency response operations in Caraga. Now, we are taking a step further by continuing the support to help typhoon-affected families in recovering from the impacts of Odette.
Through the funding of the USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), we are hoping to enable around 75,105 people to support their basic household needs through multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA).
This is part of our continued Typhoon Odette emergency response among the affected areas of Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Norte, Dinagat Islands, and Bohol. Around 500 people from Barangay Day-asan in Surigao City had received cash assistance amounting to 5,000 pesos yesterday, February 16.
Aside from the cash assistance itself, heads of households also received an amount allotted for their transportation fare. This is the first among our series of MPCA activities in the coming weeks.
Photo by Meifen Mamangkas for Action Against Hunger
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“I was frightened and shocked because that was the first time I experienced such a horrible event.”
10-year old Lenjie Concha lives with his grandmother, uncle, and aunt in Barangay Baybay, Burgos on the island of Siargao.
His grandmother, a teacher, owns the house where they are living in. His uncle works as a part-time carpenter and provides the main source of income for their household. Lenjie’s uncle also takes care of him while his father is away in Davao for work.
In photo: Lenjie sits outside his home in Barangay Baybay, Burgos, Siargiao Island. (Photo by Benjie Montilla for Action Against Hunger)
On the day that Super Typhoon Odette hit Siargao, though Lenjie was inside their home, he witnessed firsthand how the strong winds destroyed the houses in their neighborhood. “I was frightened and shocked because that was the first time I experienced such a horrible event,” said Lenjie.
Fortunately, the house that they were staying in was not severely affected.
“After the typhoon, I felt safe, and I was grateful that my whole family is alive,” he added.
Lenjie’s favorite subject in school is Science and he aspires to become a teacher someday, like his grandmother. His hope for the future is to earn a college degree and land a job so that he can support his family and have a good life. On normal days, Lenjie spends his free time playing hide and seek and other games with his friends.
In photo: Action Against Hunger staff interviews Lenjie outside his home. (Photo by Benjie Montilla for Action Against Hunger)
With the support of UNICEF and UN CERF, Lenjie’s family is one of the 221 households in Barangay Baybay that received emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene support last February 4, 2022.
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Flora Cuaton, 57, lost their home and livelihood in the distant island barangay of Mantatao, Calape in Bohol province due to Typhoon Odette (internationally named as Typhoon Rai).
“We don’t know how long it will take us to build back all that we lost because we have to start from scratch and right now, we have nothing,” says Flora. She and her husband used to own a small retail (locally called sari-sari) store in front of their house which was situated just by the island’s dock. Their small business was good then but has now been reduced to only broken items and debris.
Flora points to where their previous house and sari-sari store used to stand. | Photo by Joyce Sandajan for Action Against Hunger (Bohol, Philippines)
Before the typhoon, Flora lived with her husband, four grandchildren, and a 35-year old daughter who has a disability. They are now staying with the family of their other child while their house is yet to be repaired. This makes two families—a total of 13 people—living under one small and cramped partially damaged house.
Flora and the rest of her extended family now only rely on relief goods to get by while living in difficult conditions and having no current source of income.
The piles of wood, broken items, and other debris remain from what was once Flora and her family’s house. | Photo by Joyce Sandajan for Action Against Hunger (Bohol, Philippines)
With the support of the European Union, her family is one of the 227 typhoon-affected households in Mantatao who received food packs including 50 kilograms of rice, and non-food items such as kitchenware and sleeping essentials through the Typhoon Odette Emergency Response.
Food packs with sacks of rice and NFI kits are lined up along the entrance of the barangay which is just by the dock of the island. | Photo by Joyce Sandajan for Action Against Hunger (Bohol, Philippines)
Barangay Mantatao is one of the islands in the Municipality of Calape. It takes a 25 to 30-minute boat ride from the town proper of Calape going to Mantatao island. Aside from being geographically isolated, many houses in Mantatao had been totally damaged by Typhoon Odette leaving many residents in great need of humanitarian support.
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“As humanitarian workers, it felt good to see the people’s smiles when they received the sacks of rice, groceries and the kitchen and sleeping kits that were provided,” said Mary Amy Gagalac, the Head of Project of our Typhoon Odette (internationally named Typhoon Rai) Emergency Response in Bohol under the EU-funded REACH Project or the ‘Response to the Unmet Humanitarian Needs of the Most Vulnerable Populations in Mindanao and the Visayas Affected by Conflict, Disasters, and the COVID-19 Pandemic.’
Residents of Barangay Ugpong in Loboc, Bohol line up to refill their containers during one of the water trucking sessions provided by the REACH – Typhoon Odette Emergency Response implemented by Action Against Hunger.
We have been working to identify the needs of typhoon-affected communities in Bohol within days since Odette made landfall on December 16, 2021. Immediate life-saving aid through emergency kits and water trucking services have since been provided by REACH in the municipalities of Loboc, San Miguel, and Calape through the efforts of our teams on the ground.
A resident carries a refilled container after the water trucking service in Loboc, Bohol. | Photo by Melinda Buensuceso for Action Against Hunger (Bohol, Philippines)
“They expressed their gratitude to us and to ECHO. One of the recipients from Barangay Ugpong whose house was totally destroyed by the typhoon was in tears upon receiving the relief goods,” Amy shares.
Vince, one of our Project Assistants, hands over a food kit to one of the typhoon-affected households in Barangay Camias, Calape, Bohol.
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We’re jumpstarting the new year with back-to-back distributions of life-saving aid through the support of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).
After a few days of queueing for sea cargos to transport our relief items, our REACH Typhoon Odette Emergency Response team was finally able to provide emergency kits for around 1,780 affected people in Barangays Camayaan and Ugpong in the Municipality of Loboc, Bohol on December 31 and January 2 respectively.
Photo by Amy Gagalac for Action Against Hunger
Families greatly impacted by Typhoon Odette (Internationally named Rai) received emergency kits consisting of food packs, hygiene kits, and other non-food items (NFIs) for kitchen and sleeping needs. Through the REACH Project, we are aiming to provide life-saving relief packs to 1,250 families in Bohol, benefitting an estimated 6,250 individuals affected by Typhoon Odette.
Aside from emergency kits, almost 1,800 residents from barangays Villaflor, Undol, Sawang, Gotozon, Valladolid, and Camayaan were able to receive potable water through REACH’s water trucking services so far.
To date, Action Against Hunger is awaiting the arrival of more hygiene and NFI kits to be distributed to our other target communities in the coming days.
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/A_PH_A1BP_2021-1229_Melinda-Buensuceso_TY-Odette-Water-Trucking-in-Loboc-Bohol-9.jpg770768Adminhttps://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/logo_text_orig.pngAdmin2022-01-02 05:00:432022-01-02 05:26:45Providing clean water and life-saving emergency kits for Typhoon Odette affected families in Bohol through REACH
With the support of the USAID, an estimated 7,259 people affected by Typhoon Odette (Internationally named Rai) in Surigao del Norte received immediate life-saving aid through our Typhoon Odette Emergency Response.
In photo: Action Against Hunger team loads relief items to boats going to the island barangays of Talisay, Surigao Del Norte. (Photo by Nino Kim Diez for Action Against Hunger)
Since December 16, our teams have been going through different barangays in Surigao City (Sabang, Ipil, and the island barangay of Talisay), and the Municipality of San Francisco (Oslao) to identify and provide the basic needs of families greatly affected by the typhoon.
Action Against Hunger distributed hygiene kits and non-food items for kitchen and sleeping essentials to typhoon-affected families in Sabang, Surigao City. Shelter tarpaulins were provided by the Immigration Organization for Migration (IOM). (Photo by Nino Kim Diez for Action Against Hunger)
“A lot of people still need basic life-saving assistance which needs to be urgently addressed in order to prepare them for early recovery,” says Maricel Vina Menez, Action Against Hunger Philippines Project Officer. She is one of the team members who has been immediately on the ground 24 hours after Typhoon Odette made landfall in Surigao del Norte.
In photo: Action Against Hunger team loads relief items to boats going to the island barangays of Talisay, Surigao Del Norte. (Photo by Nino Kim Diez for Action Against Hunger)
“We hope to reach 2,000 families before December ends,” she adds. Through the funding of the United States Agency for Internation Development (USAID), we were able to provide emergency food assistance, hygiene kits, and non-food items like kitchen utensils, sleeping mats & blankets.
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/PH_B2AN_2021-1229_Nino-Kim-Diez_TY-Rai-Odette-Relief-Distribution-in-Sabang-SDN-19-scaled.jpg15522560Adminhttps://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/logo_text_orig.pngAdmin2021-12-30 03:33:442021-12-30 13:35:35Typhoon Odette Aftermath: Affected families in Surigao del Norte receive initial emergency life-saving aid through USAID support
For Immediate Release | Tuesday, December 21, 2021 Office of Press Relations ([email protected])
The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing $200,000 in immediate assistance to support people affected by Super Typhoon Rai in the Philippines. The typhoon–known locally as Typhoon Odette–brought torrential rains, causing widespread flooding, landslides, and damage to homes. Many cities across the Philippines have lost power and some bridges and roads remain impassable. People are seeking shelter in evacuation centers and cannot safely return home yet.
With this assistance, USAID is partnering with Action Against Hunger to provide food, water, hygiene supplies, and other relief items in Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Island in the Caraga region to help people affected by the storm. USAID is also supporting the restoration of water supply services and sanitation facilities, as well as hygiene promotion activities to keep people safe and healthy.
In addition, USAID works year-round to help communities in the Philippines prepare for and be more resilient to natural disasters. Through existing programs, USAID partner, the UN World Food Program, is transporting relief supplies, including enough food provided by the Government of the Philippines to feed tens of thousands of families, and deploying mobile operations vehicles to support emergency telecommunications. USAID partner, the International Organization for Migration, is helping to manage evacuation shelters and provide critical relief supplies, including USAID heavy-duty plastic sheeting to meet critical shelter needs for 4,800 families.
USAID has disaster experts in the Philippines and in the region who are coordinating response efforts with the Government of the Philippines and humanitarian partners. Our thoughts are with the people of the Philippines who have been affected by this disaster.
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Super Typhoon Odette (Internationally known as Typhoon Rai) has left the southeastern part of the Philippines devastated within hours of its initial landfall in Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte last December 16, 2021.
Photo by Nino Kim Diez for Action Against HungerPhoto by Nino Kim Diez for Action Against Hunger
After making landfall in six different provinces, Typhoon Odette has affected a total of 99,501 families, with 328,847 people currently displaced (based on the December 18 report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council). Many areas still have very limited access to basic needs. Communication and power lines are still down in many areas.
Photo by Nino Kim Diez for Action Against Hunger
Since December 17, our teams have been on the ground to conduct needs assessments in Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, and another team traveling to Southern Leyte.
Photo by Nino Kim Diez for Action Against Hunger
We are continuously coordinating with government agencies and other organizations in identifying the urgent humanitarian needs of affected communities. As part of our initial emergency response, we are hoping to provide life-saving support for typhoon-affected families by early next week.
We need your help now so that we can provide urgent humanitarian assistance to families whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed.
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The Invisible Monster, the short film by Javier and Guillermo Fesser in collaboration with Action Against Hunger, has won more than 40 awards and recognitions in international festivals since its premiere. Recently, it has been selected by the Hollywood Academy to compete for the best documentary category in the 94th Academy Awards, or popularly known as the 2022 Oscars.
“With our work on the ground, we see with our own eyes the “invisible hunger” that plagues the future of our country. The news that “The Invisible Monster” may be nominated for an Oscar means a lot to us because people are learning that solving hunger is not just about providing food. It also means providing livelihoods, clean water, education, and emergency response,” stated the Action Against Hunger team in the Philippines. “Now that more and more people are seeing the invisible reality of thousands of Filipino children, we hope they will take action and support the work we are doing to save lives and give hope.”
THE INVISIBLE MONSTER: FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE RED CARPET
After being screened exclusively to the 364 patrons who made it possible, its tour of cultural centers, its distribution in schools through the project The Race Against Hunger, and its screening on Movistar+ for six months, The Invisible Monster has left a trail of screenings, recognitions and awards that have positioned it as an audiovisual reference in the field of social cinema.
The notable awards and recognition the film has won are: Grand Prize for Best Short Documentary at the Rhode Island Flickers Festival, the Sammy and Jules Award for the Short with the Biggest Heart at the Cleveland Film Festival, the Jury Mention and Youth Award at the Medina del Campo Film Week, the Audience Award and Best Cinematography at the Tarazona y Moncayo Comedy Film Festival, and the Best Production Direction for Luis Manso at the Fugaz – CortoEspaña Awards, among many others.
Aminodin’s father always smiles because he says that “happy people live longer.” That is why, at eight years old, Aminodin puts on his best smile while working at the Papandayan dumpsite, where he lives with his family.
His cousin Aliman, on the other hand, lost his smile when bombs fell from the sky in his hometown of Marawi City. As Aliman spends his days sad and crestfallen in a refugee camp, Aminodin devises a plan to make him smile again.
THE DIRECTORS
JAVIER FESSER
Winner of six Goya Awards, Spain’s equivalent to the Oscars, the prestigious filmmakers’ works include The Miracle of P. Tinto, Camino, and Oscar-nominated Binta and the Great Idea. His 2018 film, Campeones (Champions), was the highest-grossing Spanish language film in Spain for that year. Committed to social issues, Javier has directed audiovisual projects linked to non-profit organizations such as UNICEF and the Organization of Ibero-American States.
GUILLERMO FESSER
Well-known in Spain for his radio show Gomaespuma alongside Juan Luis Cano, Guillermo works as a writer and correspondent in America. His multifaceted career includes the direction of the film Candida, a story based on his bestselling biography of a cleaning lady, and the publication of several innovative interactive books for children specifically for tablets and mobile phones.
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KIDAPAWAN CITY – Ninety-seven displaced families from Barangay Ilomavis were given hygiene kits and basic personal protective equipment (PPE) from the MOVE UP 4 project last October 30, 2021.
In photo: Team members at the Sitio Lake Agko evacuation center. (Photo by Jan Iddo Azucena for Action Against Hunger | Cotabato, Philippines)
Most of these families are temporarily staying in evacuation camps in Sitio Lake Agko after a gas spillage occurred three weeks prior, causing undesirable and potentially hazardous fumes. The incident prompted the residents to leave their homes for health and safety reasons. There is an ongoing investigation as to the cause of the spillage.
In photo: Hygiene kits are being unloaded from the delivery truck, to be distributed to displaced families in Barangay Ilomavis. (Photo by Jan Iddo Azucena for Action Against Hunger | Cotabato, Philippines)
The drilling operation had produced undesirable and potentially hazardous fumes. The incident prompted the residents to leave their homes for health and safety reasons, particularly for the well-being of children, pregnant individuals, differently-abled persons, and the elderly. Displaced families are expected to stay at the evacuation site until the end of November 2021.
In photo: MOVE UP 4 team conducts a hygiene promotion session during the distribution. (Photo by Jan Iddo Azucena for Action Against Hunger | Cotabato, Philippines)
Photo by Jan Iddo Azucena for Action Against Hunger (Cotabato, Philippines)
The Kidapawan City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) along with the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) had provided food packs for the displaced families which are expected to last for a week. but will only last for a week. MOVE UP 4 is currently in coordination with the local government of Kidapawan in assessing other potential needs of the affected community.
Photo by Jan Iddo Azucena for Action Against Hunger (Cotabato, Philippines)
This assistance is part of MOVE UP 4’s rapid response mechanism (RRM) activities. The goal of the RRM is to ensure that people who are affected by sudden emergencies—such as conflicts and disasters—have timely access to life-saving humanitarian aid.
Photo by Jan Iddo Azucena for Action Against Hunger (Cotabato, Philippines)
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