Typhoon Haiyan, One Year Later  | Catholic Relief Services	
		Typhoon Haiyan, One Year Later  | Catholic Relief Services	
		CRS















Faith.
Action.
Results.
Donate to CRS










Home

About Us 

Mission Statement
Agency Strategy
Annual Report
Financial Reports
CRS Facts at a Glance
Contact CRS
Careers at CRS
President's Letter
CRS Blog
Executive Leadership
CRS History
Publications



Where We Serve 

Africa
Asia
Europe
Latin America & the Caribbean
Middle East & North Africa
United States



How We Serve 

Public Policy
Agriculture
Education
Emergency Response
Food and Hunger
Health
HIV and AIDS
Human Trafficking
Microfinance
Peacebuilding
Social Safety Net
Water and Sanitation



Donate 

Donate Online
Give Monthly
Raise Money for CRS
Celebration Gifts
Gift Catalog
Respond to Emergencies 
Donor Portal
Why Give to CRS?
Legacies and Planned Gifts
Presidents Circle
Foundations and Corporations
Double Your Gift
Other Ways to Give



Act Now 

Pray
Light a Candle
Learn
Participate
Advocate
Helping Hands Volunteer
Farmer to Farmer Volunteer
Social Networks
Sign up for e-mail alerts



Newsroom 

Newswire
Media Contacts
Expert Biographies
CRS World Report
Press Releases
CRS in the News
Egan Fellowship
Multimedia



Español















MENU

Home
About Us

Mission Statement
Agency Strategy
Annual Report
Financial Reports
CRS Facts at a Glance
Contact CRS
Careers at CRS
President's Letter
CRS Blog
Executive Leadership
CRS History
Publications


Where We Serve

Africa
Asia
Europe
Latin America & the Caribbean
Middle East & North Africa
United States


How We Serve

Public Policy
Agriculture
Education
Emergency Response
Food and Hunger
Health
HIV and AIDS
Human Trafficking
Microfinance
Peacebuilding
Social Safety Net
Water and Sanitation


Donate

Donate Online
Give Monthly
Raise Money for CRS
Celebration Gifts
Gift Catalog
Respond to Emergencies
Donor Portal
Why Give to CRS?
Legacies and Planned Gifts
Presidents Circle
Foundations and Corporations
Double Your Gift
Other Ways to Give


Act Now

Pray
Light a Candle
Learn
Participate
Advocate
Helping Hands Volunteer
Farmer to Farmer Volunteer
Social Networks
Sign up for e-mail alerts


Newsroom

Newswire
Media Contacts
Expert Biographies
CRS World Report
Press Releases
CRS in the News
Egan Fellowship
Multimedia


Espanol
Close Menu





















CRS in Philippines
More About Disaster Response

  Basic Tools and Teaching Help Fight Haiti Cholera  
  From Rubble to Reconstruction  

More About Philippines

  In 2015, Keep the Light On for CRS  
  Philippines Typhoon Hagupit Relief Work Begins  






Sign up for the latest
updates from CRS.





 




Typhoon Haiyan, One Year Later 
By Jennifer Hardy 
Even the richest country in the world has trouble recovering from a major natural disaster, as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy demonstrated. So it's no surprise that the same story is playing out in the Philippines after Super Typhoon Haiyan, which hit on November 8, 2013. It was the strongest recorded storm to ever make landfall on this nation of islands.


Ric De Veyra helps Florencia Lluvioso exit his bicycle rickshaw, assisted by Velma Lluviso daughter of Florencia. De Veyra helped his entire community during recovery from Typhoon Haiyan. Charlie David Martinez for CRS

Ric De Veyra, and other volunteers like him, are helping families pick up the pieces in the wake of the storm and amid what sometimes seems like hopeless bureaucratic gridlock. He has volunteered many unpaid hours and sacrificed time with his family to help his neighbors get housing and other essentials lost in the storm.
 "CRS has been working hard to help rebuild communities after Haiyan, but it's only with leaders like Ric that residents can find hope, purpose and resolve to rebuild their lives better than before," says Catholic Relief Services program manager Anna Hrybyk.
"When the wind quieted, I looked outside," Ric says of the night of Haiyan, which he spent in an elementary school evacuation center, away from his family. "I saw no more houses, no more grass. I didn't know what to do, where to start, not only for my own family, but for all of my neighbors too."
CRS Provides a Lifeline
Ric, 30, had just been elected chairman of his "barangay," or community, when Haiyan hit. That's why he stayed in the elementary school the night of Haiyan: He didn't want to leave his constituents, even though his family was in  a different evacuation center.

"Everyone in the shelter was so afraid, I couldn't leave them," he says.
The sitting barangay chairperson had gone to Manila. So although Ric had not formally taken office, he found himself in charge of a community that seemed rudderless while facing the most difficult challenge in its history.

"My first thought was to find food. I walked to Palo looking for help, then all the way to Tacloban," which is more than 3 hours one way, he says. "I found food that would have been enough for my own family, but I had nearly 100 families to feed. I knew that to feed everyone, we had to clear the road. And so we did. Three days after the storm, everyone took the tools they had found and began clearing debris and downed trees by hand. The next day, relief food finally reached us."
Next, Ric sought emergency shelter from CRS. The tin and palm fronds families had salvaged and cobbled together for roofs were no match for heavy tropical rains. CRS provided tarps and long-term help in building new homes. 
Eighty-seven families needed such shelters. Even though he could have easily taken the first home for himself and his family, who were living in a makeshift lean-to, Ric told CRS that his home would be built after his neighbors'.
"I wanted to make sure my neighbors got the best houses in the fastest possible time," he says. "It didn't matter if people voted for me or not. We all needed safe and dry places to sleep."
Local Leadership Key to Recovery
Ric and his wife Evelyn moved into their new home in July. It was, indeed, the last to be completed in Cabarasan Guti. Ric plans to add an indoor kitchen as soon as he can save enough from his bicycle rickshaw business to buy materials. 
"After Haiyan, there were times I couldn't see my own family," he says. "It took all of my time to get goods and food for the whole community. I would walk to Palo every day looking for help. I give all credit to my wife for the success of our barangay. She is the one who helped my sons forget their fear of the storm by playing with them, telling them stories, coloring and talking with them. I knew I could focus on getting help for everyone, because she took care of getting help for our boys. I'm so thankful to CRS and my neighbors, but I am most thankful for her."
"And CRS is most thankful for Ric's leadership, which was a big reason why we chose to build our first shelters after the storm in Cabarasan Guti," says Hrybyk.

Jennifer Hardy is the CRS regional information officer for Asia and the Pacific Rim.


Share on Twitter











228 W. Lexington St. Baltimore, Maryland 21201-3443 | 877-435-7277 | info@crs.org










 $50.00
 $100.00
 $500.00


 $1,000.00
 $2,500.00
 Other













Why give to CRS? Accountability





All material © 2015 | Site Map | Terms of use | Privacy Policy | Jobs | U.S. Partners | Where We Serve | How We Serve | Donate | Act Now | About Us | Media
Catholic Relief Services is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; Federal Tax Identification Number: 13-5563422. Donations to CRS are tax-deductible to the full extent allowable under the law.




