To support his wife and two children, Edwin began selling fish in the local market. Since he could no longer catch the fish himself, his profits decreased and it was a struggle to get by. Then, in November 2013, things got even worse.

On November 8, 2013, super Typhoon Haiyan swept through Southeast Asia, leaving 6,000 dead and 2 million homeless in the Philippines alone. Coastal regions were especially affected with fishing families like Edwin’s losing their homes, their fishing boats, and most of the town’s infrastructure.

After Haiyan made landfall, World Renew responded quickly, coordinating its on-the-ground efforts with the Christian Reformed Church of the Philippines. Together they identified the hardest hit communities and provided emergency supplies such as food, generators and tarps. Following this emergency phase, World Renew coordinated with communities, government and other agencies to plan and carry out a multi-faceted response that would help people get back on their feet for the long-term.

“The past two years of rebuilding have not been easy ones but very rewarding to see so many people and lives transformed. We thank God for enabling World Renew to mount this two year response to assist these families and improve their lives in the long-term.”
– Ken Kim 

“We coordinated our response with other non-government organizations, seeking ways to work collaboratively and not overlap,” explained Lauris Fuller. Fuller and her husband Ron were two of ten volunteer International Relief Managers (IRMs) who were deployed by World Renew to respond to this disaster. The Fullers spent March to June 2014 on the ground in the Philippines.

The recovery plan that World Renew developed sought to address both the short-term and long-term needs of people like Edwin, whose lives were impacted by the destruction of Haiyan.

This recovery plan had three phases of response: Emergency, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in order to address its main goals: to help survivors recover from trauma, to provide a method of earning income to those who had lost their livelihoods, and to improve access to sustainable shelter and latrines.

“In general, World Renew served as a catalyst, fostering community engagement for pathways to recovery,” said Fuller.

For example, during the emergency phase, those receiving assistance from World Renew participated in clearing up debris and replanting community gardens and received cash for their work.  This provided them with short-term income and also contributed to rebuilding the community. 

Similarly, World Renew’s approach to helping fishing families get back on their feet was more than to hand out boats and fishing nets to individuals. In addition, World Renew strengthened existing community fishing associations and encouraged the establishment of new ones by providing supplies and support to groups of community members.

Fisherfolks were actively involved in the procurement process for the purchase of fishing inputs, meeting with suppliers to give advice to ensure that the items to be provided were what was needed.   As a result, over 590 fisher folk were able to return to their livelihood of fishing and improve their economic stability. 

One of the priorities of World Renew over the past two years in the Philippines was to provide access to counseling for people who had experienced loss as a result of Haiyan. World Renew psychotherapists trained 182 community volunteer counselors how to recognize and respond to trauma. As a result, over 3,000 community members attended counseling sessions, including child-focused group sessions. These counseling sessions gave people an opportunity to process their trauma and express their emotions in a safe and supportive environment.

“It’s important to recognize and address trauma,” explained Fuller. “World Renew set the wheels in motion to train people in each village to address needs in their own communities.”

A potential problem faced by communities after disasters like Haiyan comes in the structural rebuilding process. If homes are rebuilt the same way they were built before, they will be destroyed just as easily by another typhoon. The challenge is to reconstruct in a cost-effective and sustainable way.

World Renew constructed homes for nearly 1,400 families in three islands of the Philippines as well 320 latrines. The beneficiaries of these homes were not passive recipients. They provided input on the type of wood, sand and cement bloc that would be used in the housing reconstruction.  A model of the houses was drafted and shared with the communities and a prototype constructed to seek input from the beneficiaries as to the design.

Local carpenters received training in typhoon resistant construction techniques and were employed in the construction of the houses. House owners painted the roofing and wood, provided some of the lumber themselves, transported materials, hauled water for cement and were active in the reconstruction of their new homes. 

The final part of World Renew’s two-year response has been the restoration of livelihoods. In addition to the over 500 fishing families who have had their income restored thanks to the fishing gear that World Renew provided, 119 of them received a boat from World Renew. The remaining received a boat from another organization, but required additional inputs to become fully operational. This has helped families with more nutritious foods and schooling for their children.

The other livelihood work has been with farmers and small business owners. In some communities, seeds were provided and small animals to half of the families, who each agreed to donate their first baby livestock to another family in need. They have already “paid it forward” to the next group of participants. 

In other communities, World Renew provided capital and assistance to help people start or rebuild small businesses such as shell craft businesses, sari-sari stories, mat-weaving businesses, cement hollow block makers and pedi-cabs.

Edwin Avelina received a pedicab and other fish vending items from World Renew. Today, he not only makes a successful living selling fish but he also delivers water for additional income. “World Renew gave me so many blessings, for that I am thankful. Though I have this disease they still helped me,” he said.

“The past two years of rebuilding have not been easy ones but very rewarding to see so many people and lives transformed” explains World Renew director of Disaster Response, Kenneth Kim. “Typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones in history that caused devastating damage.  However, the deliberate and thoughtful planning and implementation of both short-term and long-term recovery strategies by World Renew, have helped thousands of families to rebuild their homes and their lives. We thank God for enabling World Renew to mount this two year response to assist these families and improve their lives in the long-term.”

World Renew's Haiyan programs were to be completed in December 2015 as the resources provided by supporters had been used. However, thanks to a generous new contribution from the Canadian government, World Renew will be extending its work on the island of Panay for an additional 3.5 years.  This CAD 2.2 million project is in partnership with the Adventist Relief and Development Agency (ADRA) and will assist another 48,062 people from farming and fishing households to rebuild their livelihoods. You can read about that program here.