In the middle of a crisis, it is children who suffer most. World Vision stands ready to protect them by delivering crucial assistance within 24 to 72 hours of a disaster. When Metro Manila struck by the most devastating Typhoon Ondoy World Vision was able to begin distributing life-saving relief supplies within hours. Your gift to World Vision's Disaster Response Fund will help us prepare for and respond to disasters around the world.
Our staff, spread across nearly 34 provinces and 22 cities, is committed to helping children and families rebuild their lives and communities after a disaster. In 2009, World Vision as a global relief organization responded to dozens of humanitarian emergencies around the world, including:
- The deadly typhoon in the Philippines
- The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe
- A massive earthquake in Indonesia
- Severe flooding in India
- An ongoing food crisis in the Horn of Africa
For the past years, World Vision in the Philippines has responded to numerous calamities and disasters in the country, including:
- The destructive typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) in Metro Manila, October 2009
- The Mindanao flashfloods in Misamis Oriental, January 2009
- The catastrophic Typhoon Frank in Western Visayas, June 2008
- The disastrous Typhoon Reming that hit the Bicol Region in December 2006
- The Mayon Volcanic eruption in August 2006
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The tragic Quezon flashfloods in December 2004
“World Vision assisted children and families in covered areas that were affected by 6.9 earthquake and aftershocks in Negros Island and Cebu are safe and all accounted for,” as reported by Ernie Macabenta, World Vision Associate Director in Visayas.
February 6, Metro Manila --- World Vision aid workers reported seeing scenes of mass evacuations and terror as 6.9 quake and aftershocks and local tsunami alert rattled populated areas of Negros Occidental and Cebu. Photo taken from Gaisano Mall with people running out for safety during one of the aftershocks that rocked the Negros-Cebu region.
Five year-old Kent Matthew sings the tune right but he’s trying to remember the exact lyrics of the song while his friends cheer him on. His friends chuckled even more as Kent persists shaking his hips, rolling his eyes and head, trying to complete the song he just learned during the World Vision’s Child Friendly Space (CFS) program.
Room 2 is the typical 40-square meter Grade 2 classroom of Lunaib Elementary School used on regular school days. After Typhoon Washi (local name Sendong) destroyed hundreds of houses in Hinaplanon, Iligan City, all these classrooms including the gymnasium were converted into evacuation centers to shelter more than 300 affected families.
For more amazing stories of hope from young survivors, click here.
Dec 29, 2011, Cagayan de Oro City – “We’re blessed to be here.” Celebrity teen hearthrobs and World Vision Ambassadors for children Sam Concepcion and Tippy Dos Santos couldn’t help their overflowing joy for the opportunity to participate in the culminating activity of the Child Friendly Space (CFS) in the evacuation center situated in the village of Macasandig. “This is my second time to join World Vision relief efforts. The first one was Ondoy’s (Ketsana) CFS activity. “My concern for the children brought me here,” Sam says.
“Sometimes, you have to fall from the mountain to realize, what you are climbing for.
Obstacles are placed in our way to see if what we want is really worth fighting for.
From every wound there’s a scar, and every scar tells a story. A story that says:
I was deeply wounded, but I survived because God is with me all this time.
Coz in life, all things will leave you; but God will always be there for you.
All the blessings that we have, despite the calamity that we are facing now. Life must go on.
God always has something for us.
A way for every problem, a light for every shadow, a relief for every sorrow.
May we feel the real essence of Christmas and that is Jesus Christ.
I love you. I love you.”
~Ara, young Sendong survivor
Mico seems like your typical 12-year-old boy. With a pierced left ear, you might even mistake him for a mischief. But as Typhoon Washi (local name Sendong) wreaked havoc one dreadful night in his village in Iligan, Mico was able to muster all his strength in the most difficult time to do something extraordinary --- save his 2-year old cousin from drowning.
For more amazing stories of young survivors, click here.
The Child Friendly Space (CFS) aims to help the children realize that they have the right to be protected especially in times of disaster. In the second day of CFS that was launched in the hardest hit village of Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro, the kids grouped according to their age and were encouraged to draw an impression of their ideal house which symbolizes assurance, security and safety for them.
Over a week had passed, I feel I’ve had the busiest hours in World Vision after Typhoon Washi struck Northern Mindanao—my home. I knew there was a typhoon coming, and I was even monitoring our areas. But like the weather experts and forecasters, I was stunned to behold the aftermath of Washi’s force and fury. Besides, it struck at the dead of night where many were caught asleep. Alas, I couldn’t believe what I saw. As a humanitarian worker, I knew I should keep going.
A day after Christmas, Salim’s face beams with joy as he rides on the grocery cart being pushed by his mother Melanie, 39. The mother and child were among the affected families who received food and non-food relief items through “gift certificates” facilitated by World Vision (WV) in partnership with Robinson's supermarket in Cagayan de Oro. For that moment, six year old Salim could only have fun and a joyride on a shopping cart, gliding along the colorful hallways in the grocery store. But for his mother, he is a boy coping from the tragic calamity that happened in their village a week before.
You can help families such as Melanie's! Send your help now!
