Food and Shelter for Philippine Typhoon Survivors

Food and Water are essential for Life and Learning.  They are the staple provisions to public schools supported by Asia America Initiative. Many areas of Visayas, Philippines were devastated in late 2013 by 200 mile-per-hour winds, floods and surging tidal waves caused by the historic typhoon Haiyan.  Many communities are still in the midst of a difficult recovery, including hundreds of schools.  Although we cannot help everyone, we set realistic goals. Our objective Number One:  Be consistent with food and water for at least ten schools with around 2,500 childen per day or 10,000 lunches and clean water per week. Number Two:  Assist parents and local farming and fishing coops regain their self-reliance as food providers for their communities.  We now call this innovative but practical program "Mom and Dads to the Rescue" [where government fails].

According to the United Nations and Red Cross, during the first half of 2015, some 3 million persons remain internally displaced or destitute from the late-2013 storm that swept across the central Philippine islands.  Government support has been inconsistent and foreign organizations have mostly departed after running out of funds needed to assist millions of people per month.  Asia America Initiative is still in the midst of providing meaningful support with the aid of impoverished school children's parents, thanks to three factors: Consistent donors such as from our friends at Global Giving; strict budgeting and oversight; and community action with everyone working together to do their fair share of work and sacrifice for the good of their children.  

Catig-Lacadon Elementary School in Duenas, Iloilo.has 190 pupils on a steep hilltop surrounded by forests.  6 months after Typhoon Haiyan most children at the school were malnourished and clean water was severely lacking.   Principal Rowena Ortizo says,  "Our community has always been made of simple farm laborers who have been satisfied with the basic neccesseties of life.  But Typhoon Haiyan dealt us a terrible blow that took even our modest comforts and destroyed our farm fields and water wells, denying us the ability to feed ourselves properly.  Being is the remote countryside we received no international aid or support except from Asia America Initiative.  Because AAI staff is made of local people, especially Nurse Faith Dela Torre, their leadership in Washington such as Mr. Santoli became familiar with our difficult situation.  When he heard our story, AAI did not turn their backs to the needs of our children and community.  They did not have much money, either.  But they asked us what we needed and the parents were willing to work hard to do the labor to rebuild and mothers volunteered to cook school lunches every day."  

The entire school year, AAI kept our promise to provide funds to buy fresh vegetables and chickens and eggs for daily school meals.  Vitamins and milk were also distributed at least tweice per week.  AAI's Nurse Faith bought weight scales with Global Giving donated funds to do monthly charting of all children's weight and height. By the end of the 2014-15 school year, thanks to "Moms to the Rescue" backed with funds raised by AAI through Global Giving, less than one percent of children had malnutrition in the school.  

In the new 2015-16 school year, our goal is to have no malnutrition at Catig-Lacadon and in six additional schools in the surrounding rural area.  School gardens are being planted  by parents.  And a partnership between AAI and the Philippine Department of Agriculture has provided farming tools, irrigation hoses and workshops in organic gardening attended by close to 100 parents.  The weekend of May 30, 2015 following the organic gardening workshop, the local mayor loaned a water buffalo to each of 3 schools in Duenas District who had received the Department of Agriculture and AAI training. 

"The people may have suffered a  terrible blow," observes nurse Faith, "but they have pride and love for each other.  AAI treats everyone with equal respect and our donors like Global Giving encouraged them not to give up. As a result, they have risen to the occasion."

Links:

• Asia America Initiative web site
• Asia America Initiative Facebook page

SCHOOL BASED  NUTRITION PROGRAM LEADS TO STUDENT's SUCCESS AFTER TYPHOON

 When Asia America Initiative members first visited the 189 Filipino students at Catig-Lacadon Elementary School in Dueñas,in rural Iloilo province, they found a school devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.  Buildings were devastated, most books were destroyed and children were suffering from malnutrition caused by crop destruction. The school was largely forgotten by the government and were not expecting any assistance. Even though AAI had a limited budget and many schools requesting our assistance, we made a commitment to provide supplemental textbooks donated from United States schools.  And we asked the school administrators and Parent-Teachers Association to wortk with us on a daily school lunch proogram cooked and served by voluneer parents and teachers.  

AAI Head Nurse, Ms. Faith Omel dela Torre, made the difficult journey into a highland area to get a first hand view of the shool's most urgent needs. She recommended we intervene with an emphasis on nutrition, hygiene and reading maerials. She believed our showing concern would provide the Hope to begin healing from the trauma and maintaining a strong standard of education.  

School Principal Rowena recalls, "After the typhoon most all of our school books were destroyed and many families in our community could barely feed their children due to the destroyed crops. Being a rural school we felt very worried about that no one would come to our aid and we could not resume nornal lives. The visit of AAI to our small community was an unexpected surprise. Teachers and parents had a meeting and decided to accept AAI's offer of support." AAI delivered books,water pipes for clean water and pots and pans for daily lunches to be cooked by Moms, as well as a difgital scale to weigh the children and chart their health recovery. 

The school community responded by purchasing a refrigerator to be used for storage of their food purchases for week's feeding. With AAI donors' in the US providing modest funding support, the PTA could purchase fresh foods for one week and reduce  transportation expense. Parents also agreed to assist with gardening and cooking daily lunches. Each parent doing the cooking brought their own pots and ladles. In her monthly visits, Nurse Faith reflects, "I was touched by the sincerity and the cooperation of each parent and teacher in our program. Rather than skip clases because they were sick or too weak from lack of food, children have gone school every day because of the feeding. The teachers told me that if it is like a holiday and the children look sad if they missed the feeding for a day because every day they were excited for the menu.

Classroom improvement of the children is noticable.  Parents and teachers also bing vegetables that are available in their backyardd gardens so that they can provide more food for lunch. Children bring their own rice every day except for those whose families don’t have enough money to provide. In those cases, the teachers provide for their needs.

During the first first week of March, 2015,  Nurse Faith completed the third weighing of the children. "I am happy to inform you," she conveys, "that the students of Catig-Lacadon ES are now always present and active in class because of our feeding program. No student or child is now experiencing stomach aches and dizziness because of the hunger. Although there are some children that did not eat their breakfast before going to school because they don’t have food at home, they go to school early because they are excited for their feeding."

Principal Rowena adds, "Most of the children are gaining weight with only a few still malnourished. Teachers report that children are now more active in outdoor play and in class discussions compared to just six months ago.It was only. AAI who remembered us and inspired this feeding program and provided essential support. Teachers and parents are so very thankful." 

The nutritional improvement and the text books provided by AAI has permitted  Catig-Lacadon Elementary to have remedial education classes scheduled everyday in each grade  to borrow and read the books that AAI provided. There is also a  mini Library in the principal’s office. The books are still in the big plastic boxes which are neatly arranged and kept properly. Principal Rowena states, "The children really value the books that AAI gave to them." And the school has shined in academic performance, Recently, three Catig-Lacadon students were champions in a Regional math competition. Principal Rowena sends her heartfelt message to the Global Giving donor community,  "God bless all those donors to AAI who have made our recovery possible." 

Links:

• Asia America Initiative web site

POSITVE IMPACT OF AAI:  ONGOING POST-TYPHOON HAIYAN SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAMS

During the first year following the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in the Visayas region of the Philippines, Asia America Initiative has coordinated a full spectrum of community rebuilding programs centered in each community's public schools.  We chose the schools as community centers because they are not political but are the heart and soul of civil society where the future is built through education of the children. AAI has required full participation of the community to not rely on charity but to take responsibility for their own future and to maintain a positive attitude for a better life.

AAI, through our US and international donors -- especially from Global Giving -- has provided tools, books, sanitation materials and sometimes actual seeds for planting gardens that provide nutrition and strength for students to maintain their health and succeed in their studies. The storm and continuous rain this entire year have diminished farmers' crop yields. Families sometimes go with only one or two meals per day. Our school lunch programs include parents and children planting and maintaining fruit and vegetable gardens, local farming coops selling us rice at below-market prices, local fishermen selling us fish at discount prices and mothers come to their children's schools each day to cook nutritious big pots of fresh vegetable soups and other traditional dishes that the children enjoy.  When we started the program early in 2014, more than 75 percent of all students in the area were malnourished.  

Today, more than 90 percent of students have regained their natural weight. They once again actively participate in physical activites such as sports and boy scout and girl scout "camporees."  And they participate in helping their fathers and local craftsmen rebuild their schools, such as constructing book shelves for school libraries.  There are now more than 1,000 children in AAI school assisted lunch programs in four elementary schools, five days each week.  This adds up to 20,000 lunches per month cooked and served by Moms.  AAI also provides multivitamins twice each week and milk as a protein booster each week. The cost per month for this volume of health and nutrition activities is around $5,000. AAI's Program Coordinator, Nurse Faith Dela Torre, recently wrote an end-of-year assessment report on our school lunch program:

Assessment From:  Faith dela Torre, RN

Program Coordinator in Visayas, Asia America Initiative

December 20, 2014

I have a good news that 90% of the 370 students in Bulak Elementary School are now normal in weight.  Most of them gained weight after we started our feeding program. Teachers also reported that when we conducted feeding in their school most of their children are always present because they were excited every day for the menu for feeding. I saw the big cooking pots we purchased for each school are almost empty at the end of lunch hour every time I visited and observed them in the school lunch program. Parents also told me that they are thankful for our feeding program because it helps a lot that the children improved their health and energy and are now active in school. No more children sleeping and suffering from stomach aches during class hours.

I saw the same effect in Maindang Elementary, in Cuartero, Capiz.  Some parents were amazed when they saw their children eating vegetables at school because in their house some children did not eat vegetables. The menus of Maindang ES are mostly vegetables with some ground pork and shredded chicken. Each child bought their own rice for lunch. Parents are happy with our program because they save a lot for other essential family needs to rebuild their homes, livelihood and lives and don’t need to give their children extra funds to buy a dish for their lunch. Same in Bulak ES where children are now always present and active. They are always excited to receive their daily meals and parents are very cooperative in working with teachers. Especially in kindergarten, mothers who cook at school are always able to supervise their children. Parents who cook or garden are all present and cooperating with each other in various activities.

Catig-Lacadon Elementary also prepared their feeding with mostly fresh vegetables. I did not weigh the children this week before Christmas break because there are so many activities in school. But in my observation, every time I visit them to monitor the lunches, children are always full and satisfied with their food. No one left food on their plate. I am so happy to see that children are improving not only their weight but also in their performance at school. No children now are suffering from hunger during school days because of AAI’s feeding program. Children don’t mind how many kilometers they walk to school each day -- sometimes three or four kilometers -- as long as when they reach their school they see some parents cooking to ease their hunger.

Thank you and God bless all of our donors for making a difference in so many children's lives..

Links:

• web site

The greatest challenge one year after typhoon Haiyan is that hundreds of communities are still severely damaged.  Food and shelter is still desperately lacking.  And illnesses caused by lack of clean water and malnutrition is rampant in countless schools.  Asia America Initiative has mobilized local communities as partners to provide resilient and long-term clean water, nutrition, gardening, school books and supplies and rubber sandals for children who must walk 2 or three miles to school each day.

One of Asia America Initiative's model schools and communities is the Bulak Elementary School in Batad Iloilo, a farming and fishing community, which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan one year ago. Our goal for the school's 300 children to assist their parents and teachers rebuild and create lasting solutions for the most essential needs of the children through the end of the 2014-15 school year.  

 At Bulak Elementary School in Batad, 6th grade teacher Maria Joseta Peregil, says:               

“Ours is a farming community where most families live by a ‘hand-to-mouth’ existence.  Every day, we witness the struggles of our pupils. Many of them go to school wearing worn-out rubber sandals and clothes. Their worn-out school bags have insufficient school supplies. Some walk three to four kilometers to school without eating their breakfast.  This situation make them difficult to teach because often our pupils are restless and noisy. As teachers we do our best to help them.  We even take what little funds we have from our own pocket to reach out but we cannot afford that much. We have our own struggles too, trying to ‘make both ends met’ with our meager salary.”

These children are met with insufficiency in every essential need.  At home, there’s not enough food to eat and no decent clothes to wear.  In school, students lack basic facilities such as access to water, toilets, windows and ventilation in classrooms, and few school books.  When Typhoon Yolanda struck our community and destroyed our homes and school, the children were even more deprived of the little they had. We did not believe there were people out there who were loving and caring enough to share with us.

We were surprised to find that there are still many kind-hearted people around the world who care.  But charitable foundations come and go to give relief goods and shelter.  Their help only lasted for a while.  What we need is a sustainable program to help us rebuild our lives, if only for a year to help us gain strength and fully recover from the tragedy.

God is really good.  Asia America Initiative (AAI) came unannounced and gave us books, rubber sandals, school supplies and tents which makes our pupils very happy.  AAI President Albert Santoli required the whole community to work together to make the programs strong and to share our resources in support of each other.  It made the children feel the LOVE and CARE necessary to overcome the trauma of the tsunami and broken lives (aside from their parents and teachers).  It helped them regain their dignity, self-confidence, and trust. The donated textbooks enhanced their interest in reading and learning.  Their new sandals protect their feet and make them look neat and presentable. Among all these efforts by AAI, it is the Daily Feeding Program cooked by school mothers, which motivates the children to go to school every day. For the children, school is now the best place to dwell because they learn and are hungry no more. Even we teachers are happy because we can also eat and don’t teach with hungry stomachs anymore.  Pupils’ absences have been minimized.  The parents are inspired to be more diligent and cooperative in all activities of the school especially in cooking for their children.

We asked for a little LOVE and a chance to regain our dignity, but we received much, much more through AAI listening and making sure the children’s plea, and wishes for a normal life without hunger, sickness and fear were granted.

On the wall of the main classroom building, which is still damaged from the tsunami wave and wind that turned reinforced steel stone buildings into bent and twisted ruins, are two big cardboard sign with the picture of a rubber sandal -- the new symbol of hope.  One sign celebrates the community's partnership with Asia America Initiative.  The other sign includes the words "Thank You Global Giving." 

Links:

• web site
• Facebook page, Asia America Initiative

Asia America Initiative continues to assist communities rebuilding their lives in areas devastated by the world's mist powerful storms of 2013.  Thse environment is complicated by continuous heavy rain in June and July, 2014.  Tides are high and fast, creating jeopardy for fishermen.  Upland farmers have to cope with soaked fields.  Many schools still lack roofs and adequate classrooms. Thousands of families still live in tents and sleep on mud floors.  Yet AAI's Operation Save Lives surges forward.  With the assistance of our local partners One World Institute and IPI Foundation and volunteers and the "sweat equity" of local teachers and parents -- and thanks to our international donors through Global Giving --  we continue our Surge of Hope!!  Since November 2013, with support from donors from all around the world, we have assisted more than 120,000 people. 

Among our current programs, we are providing Public health and hygiene supplies to at least six communities  and serving more than 10,000 persons between Iloilo and Capiz, on Panay mega island in Visayas.  We are providing school nutrition and clean water instruments to villages and schools along the coast of Iloilo.  This includes providing school supplies and books and rubber floor tents to schools in the area serving more than 3,000 pupils.  Due to the generosity of our donors,we have provided medical support for senior citizens, especially grandparents, across the region.  

Bulak Elemenrtary School in Batad, Iloilo  was knocked down by a giant tsunami surge wave in November 2013.  The commun ity did not know how they could recover.   A senior 6th grade teacher says, "We are so happy to have received many new reading and text books for our school library from AAI.   Also nutritious meals, tents and even a fund for materials needed for student's fathers to renovate school buildings.  We are surprised by what is being given to us like more efficient toilets. We are grateful for your kindness.  We would like to show the World that you are the people who helped us. We are so fortunate.  God bless you all."

Links:

• web site