Jan 04, 2013 15:29 SGT Save the Children (Asia) It’s three weeks since typhoon Bopha, locally known as Pablo, made landfall on the eastern coast of Mindanao, Philippines; and the sound of hammering could be heard echoing throughout the community we went to for shelter assessment.
Dec 24, 2012 09:32 SGT Save the Children (Asia) When you’re a disaster responder you get hardened to the numbers. The millions affected. The roofs blown away. The roads broken. The schools closed. The food and water needed. You have to be hardened and focus on what has to be done. But sometimes something takes you by surprise and reminds you of the human story.
Dec 24, 2012 08:42 SGT Save the Children (Asia) On the night when the Typhoon hit, my house was crushed by a tree. Now I live in my father’s one bedroom house with seven other families. I am a day care worker but the day care centre was destroyed. Now there is nowhere for the small children to go. My two children live across the river and they are so scared that the storm might come back.
Sep 14, 2012 16:11 SGT Save the Children (Asia) During my field visit in Laguna province, the first kid I got a chance to talk to was an 11-year-old girl named Jean. Sometimes, the simplest question brings out the most interesting answer—especially when this answer is not expected from the innocent mind of a child.
Aug 31, 2012 10:05 SGT Save the Children (Asia) Reflections from the frontline by Edwin Philip Horca, Senior Manager of Luzon Visayas Program and Emergency Response Team Leader for Save the Children in the Philippines
Aug 24, 2012 22:17 SGT Save the Children (Asia) Water has receded in areas and some people are starting to clear the mud but communities are apprehensive and concerned the clean up effort may be in vein if a new typhoon develops.
Aug 12, 2012 11:24 SGT Save the Children (Asia) Whenever I read reports of a flood, I imagine a powerful river, swift-moving and ice-cold. The Colorado River transplanted to an unsuspecting town. The flooding in Manila, the Philippines is nothing like that. About 2.7 million people are now estimated by local authorities to be affected, with 440,000 in just 940 evacuation centers.
Jun 05, 2012 15:46 SGT Save the Children (Asia) Nearly six months after the devastating flash floods hit Cagayan de Oro, the challenge to find a permanent shelter for those who lost their homes remains a struggle. When I arrived on May 28th, about 280 families were estimated to be camping out in five schools across the city, as their neighbourhoods had been flattened in floods and deemed ‘unsafe to build’ on by the local authorities.
Jun 04, 2012 15:42 SGT Save the Children (Asia) About 100,000 Lady Health Workers (LHWs) and 4,000 Community Midwives (CMWs) exist at community level in Pakistan. But provincial governments need to invest much more so the most vulnerable and hardest to reach families get the help they need.
May 24, 2012 12:07 SGT Save the Children (Asia) Progress towards achieving Millennium Development Goals remains a challenge for Pakistan. MDG 4 requires a two third reduction in child mortality, whereas, MDG 5 demands a reduction of maternal mortality ratio by three quarters. There is a need to accelerate the efforts to achieve the desired results by 2015.