anticipatory action

For Robert Escobar, phone transactions enable access to aid that might otherwise be beyond his reach. Photo: Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam America

When jumping the gun is the right thing to do

When Super Typhoon Rai struck the Philippines in December 2021, it was catastrophic. Wind speeds reached more than 180 miles per hour, and many areas received five or more feet of rainfall. In its aftermath, more than 11 million people needed assistance.

ECHO-funded project strengthens Cotabato village’s pre-disaster response

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...

Marginalized Bangsamoro project participants go high-tech in money matters

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...

Asmina Salik walks on a makeshift bridge outside their home in Barangay Tamontaka 3 in Cotabato City. She and her family live near the Tamontaka River whose waters rise submerging most of the homes in their area. She is one of the recipients of cash assistance from the Strengthening Urban Preparedness through Pre-emptive Action (SUPPA) project in Mindanao. (Photo: Manman Dejeto/Oxfam Pilipinas)

Flood assistance helps poor Bangsamoro families avoid debt

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...