In the early morning hours of December 4, in the town of Compostela, on the Filipino island of Mindanao, Mike Petinglay and his family fled as intense rain and wind tore at their small family home. Others were not as prepared. The heavy rains that fell that day caused an unexpected flash flood, catching many unaware. Hundreds of lives were lost and over 150,000 homes were damaged. Mike and his family survived, but with their home and business destroyed, they are in urgent need of food, water and shelter.

In the early morning hours of December 4, in the town of Compostela, on the Filipino island of Mindanao, Mike Petinglay and his family fled as intense rain and wind tore at their small family home. Others were not as prepared. The heavy rains that fell that day caused an unexpected flash flood, catching many unaware. Hundreds of lives were lost and over 150,000 homes were damaged. Mike and his family survived, but with their home and business destroyed, they are in urgent need of food, water and shelter.

They are not alone. There are over 5.4 million Filipino people like Mike who have been affected by Typhoon Bopha, which is becoming one of the worst natural disasters the Philippines has ever faced. The typhoon has caused more than 900 deaths and there are more than 930 people still missing. Close to 150,000 homes have been damaged and thousands of families have taken shelter in temporary evacuation sites while rescue workers urgently search for the missing amongst the debris.

Unfortunately, many displaced families that have sought shelter in evacuation centers have found very little protection. Some of the evacuation centers were still flooded a week after the storm passed. Others were severely affected by the typhoon and are now unable to provide effective protection from the elements. These families are in urgent need of shelter, potable water and sanitation facilities.

World Renew is responding with a $25,000 project to assist over 500 families in the town of Compostela with food assistance, medicine, personal hygiene items and safe drinking water. In this initial phase, twenty homes are also being repaired and water filters installed.

By partnering with the Christian Reformed Churches of the Philippines (CRCP), who conducted rapid assessments in the days following the disaster, World Renew has been able to provide additional immediate assistance to those in need.  World Renew has been working with these churches for over 40 years, providing them with training in the areas of literacy, agriculture, income-generation, health, justice and disaster response. In the face of this new disaster, the deacons and disaster response teams of the CRCP have been putting their training to use and have been active on the ground, assisting with evacuations and clearing debris.

Regrettably, the need is far greater than the CRCP or World Renew’s initial project can provide.  Thousands are still in need of assistance. Please pray for the millions of people affected by Typhoon Bopha as they face a long road toward recovery.  Please also prayerfully consider supporting World Renew and the Disaster Response partners in the Philippines with a financial gift.

Give online through our Philippines Typhoon Project page,

or mail your donation, marked "Philippines Flooding 2012", to: