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Our Teams Distribute Hygiene Kits and Build Latrines and Hand-Washing Stations to Prevent Outbreaks of Diseases During a Crisis

Prior to the pandemic, our teams distribute hygiene kits and build latrines and hand-washing stations in the communities we work with to prevent outbreaks of diseases during a crisis. In communities at risk, we construct water filters made from basic materials and teach healthy practices like hand-washing, cooking with clean utensils, and drawing water from protected sources.

Read more about our WASH projects and find out how you can support us: https://actionagainsthunger.ph/what-we-do/#water-sanitation

One of the 60 Beneficiaries Who Lost Their Home and Livelihood Due to #TyphoonRolly Received 5,200 pesos As Part of Our Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance

#StoriesfromtheField: โ€œWe were still doing okay financially even though the pandemic slowed our business down, but when Typhoon Rolly happened, I feel like we went back to zero,โ€ said 58-year old Maria Tipo whose community in Barangay Guinsaanan of Baras, Catanduanes was greatly affected byย #TyphoonRollyย (Goni) last November 2020.

Maria and her husband used to live along the shore of Barangay Guinsaanan. Together, they managed to get by through their sari-sari store which was then frequented by tourist who were visiting Binurong Point, a popular tourist in the area. After losing both their home and their livelihood, they are now temporarily residing in a makeshift home they built from scratch in a small space beside her grandmotherโ€™s lot. With no source of income, they rely on relief packages for food and other basic needs.

โ€œThere are times when I have trouble sleeping at night because I worry, if the handouts stop what will happen to us?,โ€ said Maria. She now has to work for the both of them since her husband had become partially paralyzed after suffering from stroke in 2019.

On January 27, Maria was one of the 60 beneficiaries from Barangay Guinsaanan who received 5,200 pesos as part of our multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA). This is one of the key programs under our ๐—˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐—”๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ง๐˜†๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—–๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—”๐—น๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐˜†, which is co-implemented byย CARE Philippines. The project is made possible through the funding of theย USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.

The goal of the MPCA is to enable typhoon-affected families like Mariaโ€™s to meet immediate food and basic humanitarian needs. Maria hopes for stability for her family in the coming days. Unfortunately, only a few days after the distribution, Maria’s husband passed away due to health reasons. Before his passing, Maria shared that her hopes for their family in the coming days was to build another house.ย โ€œ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—œ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ต ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ, ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐—ฒ, ๐˜€๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜€.โ€

(Photo by Joyce Sandajan for Action Against Hunger)

The Kits are a Big Help According to One of the 156 Household Who Received a Hygiene Kits Through our Typhoon Emergency Response

โ€œThe situation was really heavy for us, with COVID and then especially after the typhoons because we lost our house. We were worried about where to get money for our daily needs,โ€ says Dominga Lora, whose family was one of the households in Barangay Danao, Baras, Catanduanes that were severely affected byย #TyphoonRolly.

Her husband earns a living by fishing, while Dominga sells the fish, and sometimes gets laundry and cleaning jobs from neighbors. The consecutive typhoons damaged their home completely, but according to her, Typhoon Rolly made the biggest impact. Fortunately, with assistance from both the local government and financial support from their eldest child, they managed to rebuild their home little by little.

Not only that, the typhoon also affected the communityโ€™s water supply. For two weeks they had to get drinking water from the nearest creak which was a 30 minute to an hourโ€™s walk from their area.

Aside from rebuilding their home, one of her concerns for the family is making sure their everyday supplies are sufficient, especially since she wants to make sure her family is safe from diseases likeย #COVID19.

โ€œThere are no COVID cases here in our area, but of course we take precaution because we never know who might be coming in and out of our barangay that may turn out to be sick. We wear masks and we are careful, especially now that thereโ€™s a new type of COVID,โ€ she said. To address this, Domingaโ€™s family was one of the 156 households in Danao who received hygiene kits last January 13, 2021 through our ๐—ง๐˜†๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฅ๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฒ.

โ€œWeโ€™re grateful for the assistance that we received. Because of our situation, itโ€™s hard to buy these items on our own so we will take care and use them for sure.โ€ According to her, the kits are a big help for her four youngest children who regularly wash their hands.

The ๐—˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐—”๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ง๐˜†๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—”๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—–๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—”๐—น๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ is funded byย USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistanceย and is implemented byย Action Against Hunger Philippinesย andย CARE Philippines.

Distribution of Hygiene Kits to 238 families in Codon As Part of Emergency Assistance to Typhoon Affected Communities

Ever since Typhoon Quinta, the residents of Barangay Codon of San Andres, Catanduanes had a hard time getting clean water. Their barangay’s water supply is mainly pumped through electricity which has not been available since November. As a result, some families would get water for drinking and cleaning from the community’s deep well.

In times like these, especially now that we are still in the midst of a global pandemic, it is crucial to have access to clean and safe water for everyday use.

Last January 27, we distributed hygiene kits to 238 families in Codon. Included in these kits were materials for personal hygiene such as soaps, toothbrushes and toothpaste, sanitary pads for women, and more importantly, hyposol solutions which they can use for immediate water treatment.

In addition to the kits, our Hygiene Promotion Assistant, Abubakar Balabagan, held a hygiene promotion session and also talked about COVID safety reminders.

This activity is part of our ๐—˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐—”๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ง๐˜†๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—–๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—”๐—น๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ, which is funded byย USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistanceย and implemented together withย CARE Philippines.

(Photos by Joyce Sandajan for Action Against Hunger)

After A Year Into The COVID Pandemic, The Need For A Reliable Water and Hygiene Facilities are More Crucial.

Clean and potable water is not always easy to come by for communities affected by emergency situations like conflicts or natural disasters, especially those living in evacuation centers. This is why one of our initiatives is to ensure that the communities we work with have access to safe water for drinking and cleaning.

Now that we are a year into the COVID pandemic, the need for a reliable water and hygiene facilities are all the more crucial.

With your help, we can reach more communities and give them access to these needed facilities.
๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ, ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜€.

๐——๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„.
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/call-for-donations/

(Photo by Lys Arango for Action Against Hunger)

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 fromย 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.

๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—–๐—ข๐—ฉ๐—œ๐—— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฒ:
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/consistency-key-to-fighting-โ€ฆ

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

โ€œEver since the typhoon damaged my roof, whenever it rains, water seeps inside my house. The money will allow me to finally fix it.โ€

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.

โ€œI will buy a sack of rice as well because my family has experienced not eating regular meals before.โ€

Our efforts are made possible through support fromย EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid – ECHOย . This is a consortium project implemented withย CARE Philippines,ย ACCORD Incorporated, andย Plan International Philippines.

๐—™๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ:
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/

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.

โ€œEarning 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 Iโ€™m there,โ€ 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 ourย #MindanaoEarthquakeย Emergency Response last year. This project was funded byย EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid – ECHO.

With your support, we can reach more families affected by disasters with our life-saving aid.
๐—™๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ:
htttp://actionagainsthunger.ph

Nutrition-sensitization Trainings For Our Local Government Partners and Health Volunteers

Prior to the pandemic, the Philippines was already one of the top 10 countries worldwide with the highest number of stunted children. This is alarming since the risk of mortality among undernourished children, increases 15-fold if they develop pneumonia.

Because of this, we rolled out nutrition-sensitization trainings for our local government partners and health volunteers who are our allies in ensuring the health and safety of the communities we work with.

๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ป๐˜‚๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป & ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜๐—ต:ย https://actionagainsthunger.ph/what-we-do/โ€ฆ

Photo by Daniel Burgui for Action Against Hunger

Over 500 people are Able to Practice Proper Hygiene Habits Through Newย Hygiene Facility in Sitio Waterfalls

Jessa Ampoy used to walk 500 meters to be able to get to the nearest comfort room in the evacuation site where water wasn’t always available. She and the rest of the evacuees at Bongolanon, Magpet also prefer to take a bath in the nearby stream. They would walk a few meters to get there, but it sure is nearer than the bathing area assigned for the evacueesโ€™ use.

Jessa is one of the 560 people who are now able to practice proper hygiene habits because of the newly constructedย hygiene facility in Sitio Waterfalls as part of ourย #MindanaoEarthquakeย response last year, together withย CARE Philippinesย andย ACCORD Incorporated, and funding fromย EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid – ECHO.

It is very favorable for us. Where we get water is very far and steep that our backs hurt when we collect water…We are thankful for the new CR. It is very near. We no longer have to cram in the CR, because there are CRs installed per area. I will no longer be afraid to use the toilet at night,โ€ said Jessa.