Hygiene kits for Storm Washi families, Philippines

Thank you for your generous gift towards Merlin’s work supporting families affected by Storm Washi at the end of last year.

With your help, we were able to respond quickly with basic health care and hygiene kits for 2,000 families who were evacuated from their homes and temporarily re-housed in storm shelters and secure buildings.   

Merlin continues to offer health care in the Philippines, but for now at least, our teams are focusing on the urban slums of Manila, the capital.  However, we are ready to respond to any further emergencies with planned disaster response strategies, so as we move towards cyclone season once more....Merlin is ready.

Looking forward

As mentioned above, the Merlin Team is now focusing on a new project in the urban slums of Manila. With the third highest population growth in South East Asia, learning about and having access to, reproductive health care is vital. Poor couples tend to have larger families, due in part to a severe lack of awareness and access to family planning resources.   Birth control allows women more opportunities and ensures better female health. 

This new program will impact over 796,000 people.

For more information and to offer your support to this new project, please check it out on the Global Giving website under the Title ‘Giving young women opportunities in Manila, Philippines’

Final Report  - Storm Washi, Philippines

Storm Washi swept across the island of Mindanao between December 16 and 18.  It caused massive flooding, flash floods and landslides and sadly, killed more than 1,200 people.  Merlin responded by sending a small team to assess communities’ health needs and what damage had been done to health facilities.  In the immediate aftermath sanitation and hygiene was a priority to stop the spread of disease. 

Merlin formed a partnership with the largest national non-profit organisation, CFSI.  Sixty local people were hired to help make up and distribute hygiene kits to 2,000 families in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

Kit Distribution Details

Baragay 24          95 kits delivered

Lapasan              33 kits delivered

Camaman-an       82 kits delivered

Patag                  68 kits delivered

Poblacion            353 kits delivered over two sites

Carmen               66 kits delivered

Canituan             80 kits delivered

Bulua                  463 kits delivered

Balulang              142 kits delivered

Balubal                118 kits delivered

Santiago              500 kits delivered

By mid January most of the affected families had been reallocated places to live.  The main issues continue to be food and livelihoods, shelter and continued water and sanitation needs.  Local health authorities are trying to work together, although there is still need to strengthen mental health services – many are still traumatised from the affects of the Storm.

What next?

Merlin will not be extending its activities in Mindanao, as there are now, very few unmet emergency medical needs from the Storm.  The Merlin team will turn their attention back to a new reproductive health project in Manila.

In January 2012, Merlin began a 4 year progam to improve access to family planning methods for families living in urban slums. Targeting the poorest areas of Manila, this program will:

• provide access to quality family planning services via three static health facilities and 18 outreach clinics,
• promote information on family planning to over 100,000 residents,
•  conduct family planning education sessions for 10,000 young people and mass community awareness events for up to 5,000.

This programme is expected to impact 796,000 urban slum dwellers in Manila, including 230,000 potential mothers and 170,000 young people.  For more information on this and other Merlin projects, please visit our website www.merlinusa.org 

Links:

• Read about our work in Philippines