Two years after Yolanda, Save the Children says ‘job is not yet over’

Save the Children has reached nearly 900,000 people in its comprehensive response. The children’s agency has vowed to continue its rehabilitation assistance to some of the worst-hit children and families.

Two years after supertyphoon Yolanda, Save the Children says ‘job is not yet over’ and vows to continue its rehabilitation assistance to some of the worst-affected children and families who are still reeling from heavy loss of property and livelihoods. The supertyphoon, which struck on November 8, 2013, affected more than 14 million people, including at least 5 million children, and left nearly 8,000 dead or missing.

Save the Children Director, Ned Olney, said: “Clearly, the job is not yet over. We knew from the start that this was going to be a long process of rehabilitation. The world has not seen this kind of damage from any typhoon in recent history. No media coverage can fully describe what happened that harrowing day.”

Olney added: “Although tremendous effort has been put in to help survivors, continued support is critical at this stage to ensure Yolanda won’t leave a devastating legacy for thousands of families and their children. Our worry is that families may no longer be able to send their children to school and provide for their families once the assistance stops. Improving livelihoods is essential for long term recovery”
Two years into the response, Save the Children has reached nearly 900,000 people, including half a million children in partnership with communities, civil society, donors and the government. The children’s agency has distributed families food and water; provided medicines and primary health services through our mobile health clinics; repaired classrooms, health facilities and water systems; and provided shelter and livelihood assistance to farmers, fishermen and out-of-school youth to help them provide for their families.

Felipe Malinao, 35, received assistance from Save the Children’s livelihood program in Kananga, Leyte after the typhoon damaged his crops and killed his livestock. Felipe used the livelihoods cash grant to buy a carabao and three goats which he can use for farming and selling. Felipe said: “I can use my carabao to plow and cultivate a bigger area to plant my crops. When the time is ripe, I can barter the male carabao I bought with a female so it could produce offspring that I could share to my children.” Felipe shares that he hopes to use his income to buy food and send his kids to school.

The children’s agency has provided skills training for out-of-school youth so that they could find job or start up their own business.

Geovelyn, 21, enrolled in Save the Children funded welding program in Tacloban after she quit school when her mother, 3 sisters and relatives died during Yolanda. Jovelyn said: “I had to quit school to be close to my family. I felt so guilty that I wasn’t able to do anything for them since I was in another town that time.” After finishing the progam, Geovelyn got a job as staff at the same training facility.

Moreover, Save the Children says that rehabilitation should not stop at building homes and restoring livelihoods. To ensure welfare of children in times of disaster, Save the Children is renewing the call for the Congress and Senate to immediately pass the “Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection Act” which calls for a comprehensive plan to protect children’s rights before, during and after a disaster.

Olney said: “Children are always the most vulnerable when disasters strike. If there is anything ‘Yolanda’ taught us all, it is that improving protection for children before during and after emergencies is essential to saving lives. Passing the child protection in emergencies bill ensures that we learn from our experience to mitigate the impact of future emergencies on children.”