Donations continue to arrive which assist communities who are dealing with the aftermath of typhoons and other natural disasters. These past few months, your donations helped to send shipments of books, toys, basic medical equipment, mother and baby items and other supplies needed to the island of Sulu in the Philippines.
Asia America Initiative with our local partners is conducting long-term relief and providing food and water to thousands of affected families.
In Sulu, one partner is the local Fire Department who assists with the arrival of donations. They transport the heavy boxes from the port to the local university and participate in the sorting of donations. The donations will then be distributed to AAI sponsored schools, the local hospital, and birthing centers in the area.
Mindanao State University is another local partner who generously donates space for the housing and sorting of goods. Our AAI team is on location at the university to coordinate the distribution and as a contact for schools arriving to receive donations. As is usually the case, the local schools are the lifeline to the community. AAI has developed a good relationship with the schools we sponsor. The staff is attuned to the needs of the families in their area. We are able to account for donations and know where they are going. Donations for the local hospital and birthing centers will be transported there by the fire department after the sorting.
The Philippines leads the world in natural disasters. In September 2018, Typhoon Mangkhut delivered destruction to the northern Philippines causing 105,000 homeless. These areas were heavily damaged in 2013 by Super Typhoon Haiyan and in 2017 Typhoon Vinta. In September 2019, severe rains flooded communities in the port city of Zamboanga in the southern Philippines with more storms predicted in the near future.
The immediate impact after a typhoon is to keep people alive, healthy and in a positive frame of mind enthusiastic about building a better future. Our long term goal has been self-sufficiency for storm survivors across the region. Our goal this year is to assist 30,000 additional disaster victims. "The importance of teamwork involving many organizations in the community is made possible by the materials and support we have received from AAI and your donors across the world," says Dr. Magna, RN, who is also the Dean of the Graduate School of Mindanao State University in Jolo. "Every item is a blessing that we appreciate and a motivation to our partners and other members in the humanitarian relief community."
If you would like to continue to contribute to this project, please follow the link below. If you have been thinking of donating monthly for our long term project, this is a great way to budget and Global Giving is giving a 100% match for new recurring donations - a nice way to help communities you care about and double your impact! (Be sure to toggle to "monthly" donation.)
Food and Shelter for Philippine Typhoon Survivors
Thank you for your donations and concern.
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In the Philippines, religious conflict and natural disasters have caused suffering for millions of Filipino children. This program empowers elementary schools in regions where children are victims of natural and man-made disasters. Inter-faith education equity and building school communities as "one family" teaches students and parents the value of cooperation and diversity. We provide books, school supplies, garden tools, clean water, and hygiene soaps. We structure each school as a "Peace Zone" by supporting literacy, livelihood, gardening, and school lunches cooked by volunteer parents to enhance progress and cooperation between all members of a village or neighborhood with the elementary schools serving as mediation centers.
Our "One School/One Family" partnership program assists children in Asia America Initiative supported elementary schools in Sulu and Visayas regions. They are overcoming extreme poverty and communal violence through integrated literacy, livelihood skills, and health support. We have created a social media network for Muslim and Christian educators and children to share their new skills, hopes, and dreams. Mothers and fathers of pupils assist teachers to plant gardens, repair classrooms and cook daily meals at the schools. In turn, Asia America Initiative provides thousands of books, school supplies, garden tools, and clean water systems supported by ordinary people in the US, the Philippines and around the world through Global Giving. Rather than dependency on government officials, who are often not involved, we structure our programs with local and global humanitarian organizations, inter-faith religious groups and coordinate through educational institutions such as Mindanao State University in Jolo and Notre Dame College of Jolo. The results of these efforts builds community resiliency, independent enterprise and human progress step-by-step.
At Manilop Elementary School in rural Indanan District on Jolo island, school principal Zarr, states: "With our school gardens, in addition to improving children's nutrition, we also create a small agribusiness to purchase needed school supplies. As schools try to have the best gardens, that creates peaceful competition between schools as well. Some pupils who were irresponsible in taking care their plants became motivated to do their tasks by seeing other children grow beautiful and healthy plants.
"This is very nice!! Many kids may not go to college or high school. So our gardening teachers are their life mentors too. Between student government and school-based agribusiness is a positive direction for community development. We sell at the market and re-invest 10 percent in seeds so the kids get the idea about budget and business investment without debt."
Principal Merhama of Salih Yusah, an urban elementary school, speaks for most of the school heads, "We are very grateful for the support from outside donors. We are also thankful for having supportive stakeholders who providing us fence wire for the school perimeter. With that our plants won't be eaten by the animals in the surrounding forests."
Thank you, thank you very much to everyone! Hopefully we can continue all of these efforts into the future."
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Asia America Initiative thanks you for donating to our ongoing project to help girls receive nutrition, clean water, and hygiene at school.
Poverty, hunger, communal violence and limited public health plague Muslim Mindanao, Philippines. Sulu Province remains near the bottom of the UN's Human Development Index. A school-aged population of some 350,000 impoverished children -- more than half girls and 12 percent Christian -- lack clean water. Worldwide, female students are most affected in similar schools. We assist schools with a total of more than 1,000 girls, to create clean water systems, improved hygiene and daily nutrition.
At Salih Yusah ES, your donation to AAI helped build WASH facilities for girls to have daily access to clean water, soap and toothpaste. Teachers and nurses help students learn how to wash and brush properly. "The clean water has increased the attendance rate, subsequently the grade average of many pupils is higher due to to better health," says Salih Yusah Principal Merhama.
With improved water delivery at each school, we also encourage school-based gardens to provide fresh foods at each school. Salih Yusah ES has a robust urban garden with help from AAI which is used to supplement the daily lunch served at school.
Good hygiene improves children's health for better classroom performance and more days in school. Your role is essential!
If you would like to continue your support, please click on the orange "Give Now" button. Thank you!
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