February 2014 - On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) made landfall in the Philippines, a densely populated country of 92 million people. The category five typhoon killed over 6,000 Filipinos, caused 4 million people to be displaced from their homes, and caused severe damage to infrastructure, including homes, roads, schools and health centres. Although many people have already received life-saving humanitarian assistance, significant humanitarian needs remain, including early recovery activities that contribute to building communities that are more resilient. With DFATD’s support, the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC) is helping up to 9,200 people affected by Typhoon Haiyan in Leyte province by improving access to education, protecting children and helping people to earn a living. Project activities include: (1) providing materials, such as seeds, implements, poultry, livestock and fishing nets to help 2,000 vulnerable families earn a living; (2) providing livelihoods skills training and technical support to vulnerable families in agriculture, fishing and education; (3) providing technical assistance to local government authorities to help them support the recovery of livelihoods in communities; (4) providing training on child protection issues and risks in emergency situations to 360 school board officials, community leaders and parent-teacher association leaders and to 6,000 school children; (5) establishing 28 temporary learning spaces and refurbishing 15 daycare centres and schools with teaching and learning kits; and (6) providing training and technical assistance on the standards for education in emergency situations to 224 daycare workers, teachers and principals.
