Funds are still needed to help Philippine families recover from Typhoon Haiyan two years later
While thousands have been assisted, Habitat for Humanity Philippines requires 3.7 billion pesos to serve more under its overall housing goal
MANILA (Nov. 13, 2015) When Felisa Amistoso first saw the houses that Habitat for Humanity Philippines was building for people affected by the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan, she thought to herself: “I really would want to live in one of those.” On November 6, she fulfilled her wish when she received a core house in Agujo village, Daanbantayan in northern Cebu island.
With the support of its donors and partners, HFH Philippines has built 1,357 core houses for families hit by Typhoon Haiyan, including Amistoso. House repairs have also been completed for 2,982 families.
A resident of Agujo for the past 30 years, Amistoso never knew what living in a spacious, solid house was like. Her rental shack was destroyed when Typhoon Haiyan struck in November 2013 and she had to rebuild it with salvaged wood, metallic sheets and tarpaulin.
Nearly a year later, Amistoso and her good friend Shirley Elladora were shortlisted by the local government of Daanbantayan to receive Habitat houses. At the invitation of the local government, the two women volunteered on a build to mark World Habitat Day at a Habitat post-disaster reconstruction site in Agujo.
The core houses being built by Habitat in Agujo were designed to withstand wind speeds of 280 kilometers per hour. Disaster-resilient features include the use of reinforced concrete and steel, even in the roof. The addition of a loft increases the floor area of each 22-square-meter house to 40 square meters.
Looking at the houses being built, Elladora had said then: “We are willing to do whatever it takes just to live in one of those houses. With those houses, our families wouldn’t have to be afraid of typhoons and floods anymore.”
Both women put in 400 hours of sweat equity, or their own labor, into building the houses. Eventually, they received their own permanent homes. That marked a significant change for Elladora, who is five months into her pregnancy. Of her baby, she said: “He will grow up in a better home. He will have a better life.”
Other than core houses and house repairs, Habitat started distributing emergency shelter kits just days after Haiyan struck, shifting to shelter repair kits as needs changed. To date, 4,730 emergency shelter kits containing items such as tarpaulin sheet, rope and fixtures, have been distributed to meet families’ immediate shelter needs. During the recovery phase of Habitat’s response, 23,129 families received shelter repair kits which contained plywood, lumber, galvanized iron sheeting, hammer, handsaw and nail. These kits enabled families to repair their houses. Another 450 families were given clean-up kits while an additional 2,118 families received solar lamps.
Communities were also helped with the distribution of 150 trisikad (motorized tricycles), 183 pumpboats/motorboats; construction of 39 schools, three multipurpose centers, three libraries, one health center (one-room structure where a family can go to consult medical personnel), one daycare center, and one medical center.
Insurance firm AIG (top) and AES Philippines (bottom) provided funding for the construction of 63 and 25 disaster-resilient houses respectively.
HFH Philippines’ response to Typhoon Haiyan came on the back of strong support. Among the donors was AIG who funded 63 disaster-resilient houses in Margen village, Ormoc City in Leyte province. With funds that included its employees’ contributions, AES Philippines supported the construction of 25 disaster-resilient houses in Kawayanville, Santo Nino village, Tacloban City, capital of Leyte province.
Typhoon Haiyan, described as the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in recorded history, hit the Philippines with winds of 314 kilometers per hour (195 miles per hour). The process of reconstruction was hindered as the typhoon destroyed infrastructure such as roads and bridges and cut off electricity supply. About 6,340 people were killed and 16 million people were affected.
According to government figures, more than one million homes were damaged or destroyed. The great need for housing also created shortages for building materials and qualified contractors as implementing partners. Over the past two years, these challenges have contributed to the increasing cost of rebuilding.
Habitat requires another 3.7 billion pesos (more than US78,600) to fill the funding gap for rebuilding new homes, which will be part of HFH Philippines’ overall goal of building 8,000 core houses. Support from local and international donors is still needed. To donate, please visit dreambuilder.habitat.org.ph