Humanitarian organizations will be launching a photo exhibit in Siargao next week to raise awareness about the impact of Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) and the concerted efforts of residents and various groups in rebuilding the affected communities. The photo exhibition dubbed “The Last Mile” will open on August 15, 6 p.m. at the Siago […]

PILAR, Siargao Island – Since late last year, many residents in the village of Mabuhay would wake up as early as 2 a.m. to queue up and beat others to the only water pump station serving their community of 144 households. The onslaught of the Super Typhoon Rai (local name Odette) last December 16, 2021, […]

PILAR, Siargao Island – To help augment the income their husband’s income amid the COVID-19 pandemic, at least 120 women from the surfing village of Salvacion formed themselves into six self-help groups (SHeGs) last year to sell rice and other goods to their community. Each group is composed of 20 members and was organized through […]

DEL CARMEN, Siargao Island – Belen Ga and her family thought they had experienced the most powerful typhoon in their lives almost four decades ago through Typhoon Ike (locally known as Nitang in 1984), only to be proven wrong by Super Typhoon Rai (locally known as Odette) that wreaked havoc in Siargao Island late last […]

Civil society organizations (CSOs) on Sunday called on legislators to prioritize the passage of the Poverty Reduction through Social Entrepreneurship (PRESENT) Bill to help more Filipinos recover faster from the COVID-19 pandemic. “At the heart of the proposed social entrepreneurship bill is the aspiration to help members of low-income communities and vulnerable groups, especially women, […]

A pre-disaster assistance project implemented by several non-government organizations (NGOs) in the Philippines has helped a flood-prone village in Cotabato City improve their early disaster response. Noria Gapor, secretary of Barangay Tuan-a-Barakat (Tamontaka 4), hailed the Strengthening Urban Preparedness through Pre-emptive Action (SUPPA) project for strengthening the barangay government’s pre-disaster response with the cooperation of the constituents. […]

Hundreds of poor families from several flood-prone villages in Cotabato City now have access to high-tech financial services that are compliant with the Sharia Islamic tradition. These project participants of the Strengthening Urban Preparedness through Pre-emptive Action (SUPPA) have previously been unable to open bank accounts and be part of the formal financial banking system. Now […]

In 2008, massive flooding in Cotabato City forced thousands of residents, including the then pregnant Asmina Salik and her family, to spend almost a month in an evacuation center. At that time, the Rio Grande de Mindanao, the longest river in Mindanao and the second largest river system in the Philippines, swelled due to heavy […]

Sixty-one-year-old Babu Baikan Tumindeg spent at least 10 years working as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Qatar. She was on vacation in her hometown of Cotabato City when fate played a cruel joke on her. In late 2019, she lost her right eye to diabetes, a condition that prevented her from going back to […]

Humanitarian organizations on Friday called for continued assistance for Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) survivors amid a rise in dengue infections in typhoon-hit affected areas. “We hope the newly elected chief executives could continue efforts in helping households and communities affected by Super typhoon Odette as there are still so many things that need to […]