By Minaz Kerawala, Communications and Public Relations Advisor
Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada has just published a new report entitled, A decade after the storm. It provides an overview of our response to Typhoon Haiyan, which had struck the Philippines on November 8, 2013.
Known locally as Super Typhoon Yolanda, the storm was the deadliest in the country’s history. Per final tallies, it killed 6,300 people; left 28,000 injured and 4 million displaced; and damaged or destroyed 1.1 million houses.
Typhoon Haiyan: a ten-year report
Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada responded right away, allocating $100,000 to help the National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA, i.e., Caritas Philippines) provide urgent lifesaving and life-preserving aid.
We also raised over $11 million through joint appeal with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, to which Global Affairs Canada made matching contributions.
The outpouring of generosity from thousands of Canadians allowed us to invest $12.3 million in 20 projects through which our partners reached nearly a million people. In addition to providing food, water, shelter, hygiene products and cash grants in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, these broad-spectrum projects helped reestablish agriculture and fisheries; secure land titles; rebuild communities; build organizational and advocacy capacities; and rehouse displaced people.
Among the most notable achievements of our program was the development of the Pope Francis Village, a township of 566 houses that residents helped design, build and manage themselves.
Details of this work, its impact, the partners who spearheaded it and the Canadian support and solidarity that made it possible appear in the new report.
