Empower to Restore. Special Project 2015-2016.
PowerPoint presentation. Transcript.
1.
Thank you for your kind and generous support to the Special Project. The work you do to raise funds is
making a difference in so many lives. Last year you helped more fisherwomen set up small businesses,
campaign against violence in their homes and communities, and stand up for the rights of fisherfolk
wanting to stop large corporations destroying their livelihoods. Neythal is working hard on coastal Tamil
Nadu, South India and you have given the support they need in another critical year. Thank you.
This year we are inviting you to sail with us – to meet poor and vulnerable communities living in coastal
Philippines. The Special Project is a window into a different way of life – some things may be familiar
but there is a lot that is new. First stop on this journey are the fishing cages on the horizon. Come
along….
2.
The Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands and home to almost 100 million people. It experiences
an estimated 20 typhoons a year and they are becoming more severe. In November 2013 Typhoon
Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda) swept through the Visayas region. A Category 5 storm – it was one of
the largest ever to make landfall with wind gusts reaching up to 300 kilometres an hour. Haiyan
devastated the country – over 6,000 people lost their lives and around 4 million their homes. It affected
more than 12 million people. Some people including former government climate change negotiator Yeb
Sano blame its intensity on climate change.
The city of Tacloban was flattened – many news reports came from amidst the devastation. Other parts
of the region were also badly damaged. CWS was able to give significant help to the National Council of
Churches in the Philippines. The ACT (Action by Churches Together) Alliance of which CWS and NCCP
are part, provided food, shelter, healthcare and sanitation to over 1 million people. Work continues on
assisting people to rebuild homes and community buildings, replant crops, replace lost animals, and set
up businesses.
Last year the Philippines reached the Millennium Development Goal to halve poverty by 2015.
However, many children don’t get enough to eat – 32% are stunted. The UN reported 553 million
Filipinos were malnourished in 2014. Haiyan has made life harder for many.
3.
We are travelling to Aklan province . It occupies the northern third of Pinoy Island. Developers works
across 8 communities at present.
Before Haiyan the people in coastal Aklan lived largely off the land and sea. They collected fish and
worked on fishing rigs (see image above) or boats. Further inland they grew crops to eat or sell and for
making crafts like fans, mats and footwear. They grew palay or rice, bananas and coconut as well as
other fruit and vegetables. Pigs and chickens supplemented the fish they gathered from the sea.
This year you will raise funds for Developers, a partner with a sound track record of making change
happen. Some of the work Developers did before the typhoon was to improve environmental
protection by involving the whole village including children in clean ups, better rubbish disposal and new
learning. They organised the replanting of mangroves to restore the habitat for fish and moderate
damaging tidal movement. Using a strong community development model, they worked with local
villages on development plans to improve the local economy and respond in case of disaster.
4.
Meet Tet Naraval. She is the director of the Developers Foundation. With her late husband Bert, she
has helped these coastal communities take some big steps.
The very north of Aklan province where Developers is based was hit hard by the typhoon. In their
neighbourhood, 94-98% of homes were damaged or destroyed. Developers lost the piggery that
sustained their work. Crops and trees were devastated. Fishing equipment was washed away.
Developers had been working with local communities to prepare for disaster for some years but not on
this scale. Tet attributed the fact that only 14 people died in their area to the training they had done
with communities. Developers had excellent records of the community and was able to help local
barangay or village captains undertake a rapid assessment of the situation. Together they made sure
that everybody who needed help, got it.
You might like to take a few minutes to think about disasters you have experienced – earthquakes,
flooding, storms… how did you manage? Share a story with the group. Do you have supplies and a
plan for if a disaster occurs?
5.
More rain came in the wake of the typhoon. Parents hurriedly repaired homes or built shelter in an
effort to protect their families from at least some of the rain. They found food that had been scattered
by the storm where they could. Relief supplies helped fill the gap. Fishing folk shared available boats
and gear so that more families could fish.
Being a local organisation Developers saw that some barangays or villages got more relief supplies than
others. Those closer to the coast got more help than those living further inland where travel costs were
more expensive. They wanted everyone to have a fair share.
At first Developers proposed purchasing large quantities of tarpaulins , but after talking it over with the
affected people, they found it was corrugated iron roofing that they wanted. The tarpaulins were
already tearing and many of the very poor families did not know how they could afford to rebuild a
waterproof home.
6.
Developers worked closely with communities and local government to organise the operation funded
largely from donations to the CWS Philippines Appeal. They negotiated roofing supplies direct from the
Manila manufacturer to cut down costs – local prices had risen too high. The corrugated iron was
shipped to Iloilo port and then transported to a warehouse in Altavas (a city in Aklan) by truck. In the
communities, people lined up to get their supplies – three pieces for a damaged home and four if it was
destroyed. Deliveries were made to eight different communities.
7.
Developers had organised distribution in advance. Those eligible had a claim stub and were checked on
the master list before receiving their share. People were eager to get this much needed help and raced
home to install the roofing – some on temporary shelters and others as part of a more permanent
home. Local government officials were very pleased with the outcome. Altogether 3,061 households in
eight barangays or villages received these supplies.
8.
Meet Elizabeth David and two of her children who received four sheets. She said life was hard before
the typhoon. Her husband worked as a labourer building and repairing fishing gear and in the evening
fished for crabs and shrimps. It was a simple life she said and although the family of 13 struggled at
times, they were happy.
The typhoon turned their lives upside down. Once they knew the magnitude of the storm, Elizabeth
realised their house would not be strong enough so she moved her family to a neighbour’s concrete
house where three other families were already sheltering. She watched the sea water flood into their
home and break it into pieces. Soon after, their fishing boat and equipment followed – leaving the
family with nothing.
Once the storm subsided, she and other members of the barangay or village, searched for anything they
could salvage from among the debris and toppled trees. It was a hard time and they were pleased to
receive food, clothing, cooking utensils, and a cash grant. The family was grateful for corrugated iron
supplied by Developers with money from CWS:
“Thank you for your help and for easing our burdens. Your assistance has made us feel stronger and
look at our lives and our future brighter. God bless you all.”
9.
Approximately 9 kilometres inland, the community of Quinasay-an received little outside help. The
people are farmers, growing coconut, rice and vegetables plus a few bananas and root crops. Families
supplement their incomes by weaving pineapple fibre and nito or rattan products to sell.
Access to the hilly town which is home to 602 people is via a long and narrow cement road navigated by
motorcycle. During heavy rains, the Anoy Rover floods and the motorbike drivers refuse to travel
making it impossible for them to get to markets. During the typhoon, the floods and winds caused
widespread damage. With no community evacuation shelter, the families were very vulnerable . The
roofing iron provided by Developers was very important to them.
The school lost all but the floor, some furniture and the walls of the kindergarten class (on the right).
Developers worked with the community to replace the roof and repair two of the three classrooms so
the children could resume their studies. They did not have enough materials to replace the third.
10.
Living with the daily reminders of the damage a typhoon can do, communities were keen to prepare for
the next one and explore alternative ways of earning income. Developers helped them analyse
community resources and plan for the future. Local government officials expressed their appreciation
for the expertise they brought to the process. Filipinos were keen to share their ideas and be involved.
11.
During the typhoon wave surges of up to 5 metres caused extensive damage to fisheries and coast lines.
They ripped out many of the mangrove trees that help protect coastal habitat. The dead mangrove
pictured on the left did not survive the typhoon. Mangroves grow in land sediment where fresh water
meets the sea. They stabilise the ground and protect against rising sea as well as providing habitats and
breeding grounds for fish. These “walking trees” also provide timber used to build boats and homes or
as fuel.
Recognising the importance of mangroves, Developers had organised planting days to replace some of
the many hectares cut down in the name of development. The survival rate was 70-80%. As part of
their recovery process, they want to plant many more. You can specifically help them achieve their goal
by choosing to buy Mangroves through our Gifted programme. It is also a way to offset carbon
emissions.
12.
Since the typhoon, Filipinos have been working hard but many need help to replace what they lost in the
typhoon. Coconut and banana trees take years to grow and they do not have the capital to buy new
farming or fishing equipment. Most are aware that another dangerous weather event may come their
way.
Nearly two years later Developers is doing what they can. They have a small interest free loans scheme
which lends NZ$70 for projects when the investor puts up NZ$60. Repayments are made twice a
month.
Developers has helped households replace stationery fishing equipment, poultry and pigs, and restore
vegetable gardens. It has assisted local government to respond to their communities and undertake
economic planning for the future. They have provided materials to repair 11 schools and have involved
men, women and children in the process. Next year they want to do more and that is why your efforts
for the Special Project are so important. Simply put, your fundraising will mean Developers can extend
this help to more families and communities preparing for future disasters and their own development.
13.
Developers has been able to help 14 barangays or villages of approximately 14,000 people since the
typhoon. They have the skills and the networks to move many of these families from only just surviving
to something better. Your help will make that difference. Thank you.
And a final message from Tet:
“It is my utmost pleasure to extend our warmest greetings from the Philippines to our friends in the
Presbyterian and Methodist Churches in New Zealand… The donations that you will be generating will
help us promote disaster risk reduction and gender, support the establishment of local markets for
livelihood enhancement, promote participatory local governance and better use of government
resources. It will also add light and inspiration to our work, with the comfort and joy of the knowledge
that you are with us along the way as we journey together with our work in the communities.
As one renowned philosopher (Plato) said: “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good
actions in others.”
Thank you so much and God bless you all!”