Stories

Families vulnerable to calamities receive pre-disaster aid

Alvin Ocena lives in a humble and small house on the outskirts of Malobago village in Dolores, a rural town in the Philippines' Eastern Samar province. When disasters strike, they often lose their homes and properties on which their survival depends.

Empowering women through saving

A month ago, Marianne Penido borrowed Php 500 from “Reyna ng Tahanan” (Queen of the Home)—a self-help group (SHeG)—in the coastal town of Dolores in the province of Eastern Samar.

NOMINATIONS OPEN: Journalism for Equitable Asia Award 2022

Theme: Inequality-threat to life and livelihoods As COVID-19 spread across Asia, harrowing scenes of overflowing hospitals and queues for funeral services in some of the region’s most populous countries shocked the world. However, even before the massive uptake in COVID-19 deaths in Asia in 2021, 1...
Dolores Basijan bought medicines, mineral water and other stuff after she received an amount of Php 1,800 from the B-Ready project preemptive cash assistance. (Photo: Alren Beronio/Oxfam)

Pre-typhoon aid empowers mother to prepare for Odette

Despite the gloomy weather and the threat of an approaching storm, Dolores Basijan could not help but smile on her way out of a remittance center. The 41-year-old mother immediately proceeded to the public market in Salcedo town in Eastern Samar to buy some necessities for her family, including a...
An emergency disaster preparedness meeting was held at the Municipal building together with the Inter-agency taskforce of Salcedo, on December 13, 2021. (Photo: Alren Beronio/Oxfam)

Salcedo leader urges government to adopt anticipatory action in DRRM

The coastal municipality of Salcedo, with a population of more than 22,000 people in its 41 barangays, is one of the areas in the province of Eastern Samar that is frequently hit by calamities, particularly typhoons. This requires its local government unit (LGU) to strengthen preparedness measures...
Brgy. Chairman Sentino Uy, 48, secured the safety of his constituents who evacuated in Brgy. Palanas, Salcedo, E. Samar. (Photo: Alren Beronio/Oxfam)

Oxfam’s pre-disaster aid strengthens community’s disaster preparedness

Severgillo Abellar is a village councilor of Buabua in Salcedo town, Eastern Samar province. He is also one of the many people included in the Building Resilient, Adaptive, and Disaster Ready Communities (B-READY) project of Oxfam Pilipinas and its partners.
Naty Pernito, 38, a local resident of Brgy. Bagtong Salcedo prepares emergency kit days before the expected landfall of Typhoon Rai. (Photo: Alren Beronio/Oxfam)

Salcedo resident thankful as anticipatory aid prepared them to face Odette

When Naty Pernito learned that their town of Salcedo in Eastern Samar province was on track to be affected by typhoon ‘Odette’ (international name: Rai), she could not help but get anxious.
Morodin discusses the importance of frequent and proper handwashing in front of community members during the Mum's Magic Hands Graduation at Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao. The 'graduates' are expected to become health champions within their communities and ensure the project's sustainability. (Photo: IDEALS)

Towards a clean and COVID-19 resilient community

Morodin Mangintas Mohammad, 26, is the secretary of Tugal village, Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao, a village of approximately 732 people. As a village secretary, Morodin keeps the records of their village, its population, including live births and mortality data. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in...
Norhaimin Omar, 26, is an elected youth council leader and health promotion champion keeping her community safe from Covid-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks by teaching young people the importance of proper handwashing and hygiene. Her village in Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Maguindanao is a designated evacuation area that hosts hundreds of families forced to flee their homes because of armed conflict, even during Covid-19 lockdowns. “My dream is for my community to be safe from violence and the corona

It takes a village to shift social norms

At 9AM in Barangay Tukanakuden in Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao province, health champions would start flocking in the barangay hall. The champions refer to these training sessions as “classes”. The roster of champions is diverse – most of them are mothers, as they are the project's primary...