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
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/PH_B2AO_2022-0216_Leilani-Flores_MPCA-in-Day-Asan-1-scaled.jpg19202560Adminhttps://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/logo_text_orig.pngAdmin2022-02-18 06:12:162024-09-11 14:31:48Supporting Typhoon Odette-affected families to meet food and other basic needs through cash assistance
Eight years after the Zamboanga Siege, more than 700 families are still living in transitory sites of Masepla, Rio Hondo, Asinan, and Buggoc and they face further setbacks when COVID-19 started. Many have been struggling with food insecurity after losing their livelihoods as a result of the pandemic.
Under our project funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), we hope to support the remaining displaced residents through a Multi-purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) program.
During the first round of the payout last July 28, an initial 167 families had received 5,100 pesos which can be used for livelihood, hygiene, health, or shelter purposes among many others. Some of the participants who had already received the cash assistance have reportedly spent it on either capital for their small business, medicine and health services, or shelter purposes such as rental payment and purchasing of kitchenwares and solar lamps.
This marks the first MPCA activity of the project as the team will be conducting scheduled payouts in the coming weeks.
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1.png600879Adminhttps://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/logo_text_orig.pngAdmin2021-08-16 04:40:142024-09-11 14:31:53Hundreds of displaced families in Zamboanga City receive multi-sectoral cash assistance
ZAMBOANGA CITY — Our field teams conducted the initial Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) and Social Preparation orientations among our #PBAMindanao2021 Project participants living in the transitory sites of Masepla, Asinan, Buggoc and Rio Hondo last July 21-23, 2021.
The livelihood assistance is in support vulnerable communities in Mindanao after community immobility and restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the living condition of many residents, particularly those who were protractedly displaced following the Zamboanga siege back in 2013.
Our ‘Multi-Sectoral Lifesaving Assistance To People Most Vulnerable To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Conflict, and Disasters’ or Program Based Approach (PBA) Mindanao 2021 Project is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) The project aims to protect, assist, and advocate for displaced people, indigenous peoples, vulnerable population, and marginalized communities particularly vulnerable to conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/F7AM-Jul22-FS-MPCT-Activity-Orientation-and-Social-Prep-ZM2.jpg401867Adminhttps://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/logo_text_orig.pngAdmin2021-08-03 04:21:342024-09-11 14:31:53PBA Mindanao 2021 starts cash assistance program for COVID-affected IDPs in Zamboanga
Sixty-seven-year-old Carlos Tesorero had one word in mind when asked how he felt when he saw what was left of his home – painful. Carlos, or “Tatay Carlos” as they called him, had a house along the shore of Barangay Guinsaanan in the Municipality of Baras, Catanduanes.
On the morning of November 2, 2020, a day after Typhoon Rolly made landfall, he, along with the other families living near the sea, returned and saw that the typhoon’s strong winds and heavy rains had completely destroyed their houses. “After the storm had passed, at around eight in the morning we went back to check our houses, and everything was gone… It was painful,” said Tatay Carlos. Hollow blocks, scraps of wood, metal, and scattered belongings were all that was left of their homes.
“After the storm had passed, at around eight in the morning we went back to check our houses and everything was gone… It was painful.”
In photo: Action Against Hunger staff visit the wreckage of houses in Barangay Guinsaanan where the houses of Carlos Tesorero and his neighbors once stood. It is now categorized as a ‘no-build zone’.
The residents of Barangay Guinsaanan were no strangers to such weather conditions, especially for those residing along the shore. In fact, in less than two weeks, the province had experienced the impacts of three typhoons – from Quinta to Rolly to Ulysses. Amongst the three, it was Super Typhoon Rolly that greatly affected their homes and livelihoods.
Tatay Carlos worked as a tour guide since 2015. He would accompany tourists to Binurong Point, one of the top tourist destinations in the province and about an hour’s hike from his barangay. Back then, he would get two visitors in a normal week, earning him 200 to 300 pesos. During summers, there would be more tourists and he would get twice the amount of visitors. This all changed when the lockdown was implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We were okay before. But when the pandemic happened, it was hard because I had absolutely no income,” Tatay Carlos shares.
Tatay Carlos and his fellow tour guides looked for alternative sources of income. He went on to extract and sell dried coconut meat taro leaves, papayas, or other crops, earning just enough to get by. Unfortunately, most of the crops and coconut trees were damaged after the consecutive typhoons. He then started to collect dried wood and would sell them for firewood. He would earn enough to buy his food for the day. Tatay Carlos said he tried to apply for manual labor jobs like construction but was unsuccessful. “No one was accepting me because I was old, unlike the others,” he lamented. “I guess this is how it is when you get older, it’s more difficult to get a job.”
In photo: Tatay Carlos happily smiles with his cat named ‘Jasper’ who is his current companion inside his temporary home.
In photo: Tatay Carlos happily smiles with his pet inside his temporary home.
After the typhoons, the sea level had risen significantly, making the land where his home once stood into a no-build zone. Like the other families who lived there, Tatay Carlos now has to start from scratch. Fortunately, he was allowed to reside in a small building that was previously used as a barangay hall for the meantime.
With all that he has been through, what saddens Tatay Carlos is going through these ordeals alone. His wife, daughter, and grandchild visited a relative in Bulacan last year, but because of travel restrictions and financial constraints, they have not been able to return to Catanduanes since then. “If there was no pandemic, they would want to go back here,” he said. He tries to keep in contact with them regularly, but their conversations are often limited due to weak cellular phone reception.
Despite living alone, he continues to be in good spirits by regularly talking to his neighbors. Tatay Carlos also enjoys the company of a white kitten which he keeps as a pet. He spends his day going to the sea to catch fish for his own consumption since these are usually too small to sell. Some days, he checks if there are any crops to be harvested and sold. Tatay Carlos’ daily food is augmented by relief packs from various organizations. Mineral water is sold in the barangay, but since he has no income, he would get drinking water from the deep well.
In photo: Inside Tatay Carlos’ temporary home, his beddings on one side and the relief goods he received on the other.
Tatay Carlos works hard each day in order to provide for himself and perhaps earn extra income to save. “What we really need is money,” he says with a weak laugh. “We received noodles and canned goods as relief, so food is all set. We got some soap too, but those ran out quickly. I have to admit, sometimes I loan items from the sari-sari store items like cooking oil or laundry soap, and I pay them back once I manage to sell some of the firewood I collect,” he adds further.
He was excited when he found out that he was selected to be a beneficiary for Action Against Hunger’s multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA). On January 27, Tatay Carlos was one of the 60 beneficiaries from Barangay Guinsaanan who received cash assistance amounting to 5,200 pesos. The MPCA was conducted as part of Action Against Hunger’s Emergency Assistance to Typhoon Affected Communities in Catanduanes and Albay, which is co-implemented by CARE Philippines. The project is made possible through the funding of the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID-BHA). The project is expected to reach a total of 14,500 people through MPCA alone. The goal of the program is to enable the most vulnerable households affected by Typhoon Rolly to meet immediate food and basic humanitarian needs.
“My number one dream is to have a house of our own again,”
With the assistance he received, Tatay Carlos remains hopeful and positive. “My number one dream is to have a house of my own again,” he shares. The makeshift house he is currently residing in is being sold at 30,000 pesos and he hopes to earn and save enough money so he can buy the lot someday. He also adds that one of his priorities as well as to have his daughter graduate as this was his dream for himself when he was younger. “Even though she now has a child of her own, I want my daughter to finish her studies,” he says.
In photo: Tatay Carlos at the Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) payout orientation at Barangay Guinsaanan, Baras. (Photo by Joyce Sandajan for Action Against Hunger)
Despite losing both his home and livelihood, Tatay Carlos smiles as he shares the many ways he tries to make ends meet on a daily basis. Knowing he has to start from nothing pains him but says he is thankful that there are people who are willing to extend kindness through various forms. He may have been through a lot the past year, but his family and the support from his community keep him going.
https://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/PH_B2AK_2021Jan25_Joyce-Sandajan_Guinsaanan_Carlos-Tesorero-5-scaled.jpg19202560Adminhttps://actionagainsthunger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/logo_text_orig.pngAdmin2021-02-24 13:29:522024-09-11 14:31:59Story from the Field: Making Ends Meet