Update: Monday, October 5, 2009
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Relief Efforts Continue in the Philippines
Children International staff in Metropolitan Manila were able to carry out the distribution of relief
supplies on Sunday, October 4, to families affected by recent typhoons. More than 700 families of sponsored children received food baskets containing rice, noodles, meats, sugar and more.
Families also received vouchers, allowing them to pick out items they needed the most. Clothing and shoes were the most popular items.
Rains from Typhoon Parma are forecasted to plague northern Philippines for longer than originally expected. The storm, which passed through the island nation as it headed north over the weekend, has changed direction. It is currently being driven south by a larger typhoon that is projected to miss the Philippines. |
Despite more rain, hundreds of families lined up to receive relief supplies over the weekend. |
Flooding and landslide warnings remain in effect for the extreme northern edge of the Philippines island chain.
Sponsored children and their families received food, clothing and other critical items they needed to begin putting their lives back together. |
We have no additional reports of further damage to any of our sponsorship population in the Philippines.
The Pacific typhoon season typically lasts from May to November.
It is Children International’s policy to contact sponsors when we can verify that their sponsored child has been directly impacted by a disaster.
We will continue to provide updates here if we receive new information from the field. |
How you can help
If you’d like to help families affected by this disaster, you can donate here. We also have children living in the Philippines on our sponsorship waiting list. Click here to learn more.
Update: Saturday, October 3, 2009
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Parma Makes Landfall, Forces Tens of Thousands to Flee
Typhoon Parma came ashore on Saturday in the wake of last week’s devastating storms that submerged major parts of Metro Manila.
While the storm steered clear of the waterlogged city, it did hit near the Albay region, where Children International sponsors 35,000 children in the areas of Legazpi and Tabaco.
Thousands of families were forced to evacuate in preparation for heavy rainfalls and flooding. Initial reports from Children International staff in the area indicate that sponsored families were not among the evacuees and, up to now, have been minimally impacted by Parma’s landfall.
While there was some localized damage from high winds, the biggest factor now will be the heavy rains that follow. Forecasters are expecting anywhere from 8” to 20” of rain, which could cause massive flooding and mudslides.
It is Children International’s policy to contact sponsors when we can verify that their sponsored child has been directly impacted by a disaster. We will provide updates here as we receive new information from the field.
How you can help
If you’d like to help families affected by this disaster, you can donate here. We also have children living in the Philippines on our sponsorship waiting list. Click here to learn more.
Update: Friday, October 2, 2009
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Typhoon Parma Churns Off Coast of Philippines
Recovery efforts in the Philippines may be hampered by a second storm. Forecasters expect Parma, a powerful typhoon churning just off the coast of the Philippines, to hit the east coast of northern Philippines on Saturday. The storm is packing sustained winds of up to 120 mph, with gusts up to 140 mph. Officials fear it could develop into a “super-typhoon.”
In Albay province alone – where Children International sponsors 35,000 children in the areas of Legazpi and
Tabaco – nearly 50,000 people were evacuated Thursday and Friday amid locally heavy rains ahead of Parma’s landfall.
While forecasters say the new typhoon could still change course, it is currently expected to hit further north in the Philippines than Typhoon Ketsana, which claimed nearly 300 lives when it flooded the island of Luzon on September 26-27. Flooding in the already drenched area of Metro Manila is likely to cause further damage and hardship.
Our staff in the field will continue providing updates to us as they are able to do so and we will pass that information on to you here. |
Less than one week after getting struck, Filipinos prepare for a second massive storm. |
How you can help
If you’d like to help families affected by this disaster, you can donate here. We also have children living in the Philippines on our sponsorship waiting list. Click here to learn more.
Slideshow: Thursday, October 1, 2009
Children International’s recovery efforts continue in the Philippines. Take a look at some photos of the devastation caused by Typhoon Ketsana in Metropolitan Manila.
How you can help
If you’d like to help families affected by this disaster, you can donate here. We also have children living in the Philippines on our sponsorship waiting list. Click here to learn more.
Update: Wednesday, September 30, 2009
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More Than $2 Million in Aid to Philippines
Our staff in the Philippines conducted their fourth consecutive day of assessments and emergency relief efforts on Wednesday, September 30.
Often wading through muddy, chest-deep waters to reach sponsorship communities, Children International staff in Quezon City and Manila continued their efforts by going house-to-house to assess the situation of affected sponsored children.
Thousands of sponsored children and their families have been severely affected, many losing their homes and personal belongings. And sadly, staff in Quezon City discovered that a 10-year-old sponsored girl – along with most of the members of her family – died in the flooding.
Emergency aid – including medical assistance, food and relief supplies – has helped ease the burden for flood victims. Because of the overwhelming need in the communities, Children International health clinics have been offering medical help to sponsored children and their families as well as for those who are not in the sponsorship program.
In addition to providing immediate relief, Children International has three shipping containers full of relief supplies on the way to the Philippines. Their contents, valued at more than $1.6 million, include shoes, clothing, hygiene items and household materials.
Due to the widespread devastation, $500,000 in short- and long-term home reconstruction materials and food aid has also been approved by Children International. Our sponsorship program in the Philippines includes more than 40,000 children in Manila and Quezon City. We also have 35,000 sponsored children living in the areas near Tabaco and Legazpi, which are a significant distance from the Manila area. Thankfully, the population there seems to have been spared from any serious damage.
It is Children International’s policy to contact sponsors when we can verify that their sponsored child has been directly impacted by a disaster. We will provide updates here as we receive new information from the field.
How you can help
If you’d like to help families affected by this disaster, you can donate here. We also have children living in the Philippines on our sponsorship waiting list. Click here to learn more.
Update: Tuesday, September 29, 2009
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Relief Reaches Devastated Families in the Philippines
Philippine authorities are bracing for another possible storm later this week as the death toll from Typhoon Ketsana rose to nearly 300.
Officials in the Philippines report that the number of people affected by the flooding is nearing 2 million – with close to 400,000 people forced from their homes.
About 4,000 families in our sponsorship community are known to have been affected by the flooding, which began Saturday, September 26, and continued through Sunday. Approximately 500 of these families suffered either total or partial damage to their homes.
Our staff in Manila and Quezon City has begun distributing relief supplies to some of the most badly damaged areas.
Agency health clinics are open and providing services, including checkups and prescribing medicines. The primary health problems they are seeing among sponsored children are coughing and fever.
Carmie Carpio, our communications coordinator in Quezon City, reported that as soon as Children International staff arrived in the communities, “The families brightened up and called on other families to alert them of the staff’s presence. They sense that help is on the way.” |
Quezon City Agency Director Lei Orioste (left foreground) lets sponsored families know that help is on the way. |
We will continue providing updates here as we receive new information from the field.
It is Children International’s policy to contact sponsors when we can verify that their sponsored child has been directly impacted by a disaster. We expect to receive regular updates from the field. Please check back here for additional information.
How you can help
If you’d like to help families affected by this disaster, you can donate here. We also have children living in the Philippines on our sponsorship waiting list. Click here to learn more.
Massive Flooding Kills Many in the Philippines
Flooding in Quezon City and Manila leaves more than 300,000 people affected.
The worst flooding to hit Manila in 40 years has claimed more than 140 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the Philippines.
The rains began Friday, September 25, as Typhoon Ketsana bore down on the island nation. Heavy rains continued through Saturday, inundating Manila and Quezon City with the equivalent of a month of rain in just six hours. By Sunday, over 80 percent of the metropolitan area was under water.
At this time, we have no reports of serious injury or death to sponsored children. However, thousands of families in our sponsorship program are known to have been affected. That number is likely to rise as staff and volunteers conduct assessments in previously inaccessible communities.
Children International staff are on the ground, continuing to gather information about the safety and welfare of our sponsorship families. Staff in Quezon City and Manila are prepared to disburse emergency supplies. They also report that, except for one badly damaged community center, our health clinics are open and there are ample supplies of medicines available at all service area centers. |
Scores of people died in raging waters that rose several feet
in a matter of hours. Photo provided by Carmelinda Carpio,
of our Quezon City, Philippines, agency. |
It is Children International’s policy to contact sponsors when we can verify that their sponsored child has been directly impacted by a disaster. We expect to receive regular updates from the field. Please check back here for additional information.
How you can help
If you’d like to help families affected by this disaster, you can donate here. We also have children living in the Philippines on our sponsorship waiting list. Click here to learn more.
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