October 6, 2009
Typhoons and tsunamis sent relief groups scrambling in different directions as disasters hit the Philippines and American Samoa last week. Massive flooding in both countries has displaced millions, forcing native governments to rely on ministries and relief groups to help their people. Relief groups have divided their efforts - and joined forces with some unexpected partners - to aid the nearly 4 million people affected by the crises.
Two Storms in Two Weekends in the Philippines
In the aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana, which left about 300 dead in the Philippines after it hit Manila last weekend, and this weekend's Typhoon Parma causing further damage, Christian relief aid organizations are in full force, trying to help the nearly 4 million Filippino people who have been affected.
The first typhoon, Ketsana, caused massive flooding in metro Manila, the country's capitol. According to Jeff Wright, World Vision's emergency response director for Asia, the typhoon "brought one month's rain to Manila in less than seven hours. Five days after the storm, some villages remain submerged in water and are difficult to access with relief supplies." And that was before the second typhoon, Parma, struck this weekend.
Wright said a conservative estimate of the damage to infrastructure and agricultural losses is at about $100 million in United States currency. And as more evacuees reach designated shelters, the numbers of those affected continues to rise. To date, nearly 4 million people have been affected.
Relief a 'Matter of Life and Death'
"We are trying to help people in their time of suffering. Typhoon Ketsana has left a lot of people in great need, and Typhoon Parma caused damage as well. We are trying to live out our faith by helping people in their distress," said Wright. "(Our) focus now is on meeting basic human needs: shelter, food, water and safety (especially for children). Not to be over dramatic, but this is literally a matter of life-and-death for some. Initial response is about guarantying people's survival."
Food and non-food items distributed by World Vision have already reached 1,619 families or 8,095 people. World Vision's initial response is planned for three months and is expected to reach 100,000 people. World Vision also set up Child-Friendly Spaces for about 500 children. But actual need still dwarfs the available response.
"Typhoon Parma actually affected a different part of Luzon than Typhoon Ketsana, so while some people may have been twice affected, more than anything else we're seeing just a substantial increase in the overall number of people affected, who have lost everything," Wright said.
Churches in the country have been on the front lines of the disaster relief.
"Really, what happened last weekend when Typhoon Ketsana struck was the church leapt into action," said Mark Hanlon, senior vice president Compassion USA, Compassion International. "They started working with local government initiatives and interventions in order to see what they could do to supply relief activities, specifically to the children that are registered in Compassion projects and to their families. But, since the church is doing this, they are also going out into the entire community."
Compassion works with about 50,000 children in the Philippines, all through about 200 Compassion church partnerships.
"Of those 50,000 children, about 5,000 of them are in the area that has been impacted and 1,300 or 1,400 of them have been pre-acutely impacted," Hanlon said.
