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Rapid gender analysis shows the gendered impact of El Nino in Kalinga and Negros Oriental

  • CARE Philippines
  • Blog, Featured Stories, Gender, Gender, Latest News & Stories

by Josephine C. Kusain and Mary Therese L. Norbe

Photo: Farm fields lay barren due to lack of rainfall and water in Brgy. Santor, Rizal, Kalinga. (Josephine C. Kusain)

The rapid gender analysis (RGA) conducted by CARE Philippines and its partners, Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services (CorDIS RDS) and Citizen’s Disaster Response Center (CDRC), in response to the 2024 El Niño event in the Philippines, highlighted significant impacts on the agricultural and fishing communities in Kalinga and Negros Oriental. The drought, which affected 59 out of 82 provinces across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, led to severe agricultural losses and food shortages, disproportionately impacting men, women, girls, and boys in these regions. 

In Kalinga, communities reliant on rice, corn, and vegetable farming faced immense difficulties in maintaining their fields and gardens. Similarly, in Negros Oriental, sugarcane farmers and fishing communities struggled with reduced productivity due to the harsh weather conditions. Both regions reported increased pest infestations, dried rice fields, and significant productivity reduction and crop losses, leading to severe food shortages and malnutrition, particularly among children. Women in Kalinga adjusted by waking early to work in the fields, while in Negros Oriental, coastal households altered fishing schedules to cope with the intense heat. The shortened fishing windows and fish moving deeper for cooler waters reduced catch potential, further straining coastal livelihoods and incomes.  

Photo: The heat cause rice fields to crack and prevented the rice to grow in Kalinga. @CorDis RDS

Water scarcity emerged as a critical issue in both regions, with Kalinga experiencing rotational water sources and frequent interruptions, allowing households access to water for only 3 to 4 hours daily. In Negros Oriental, even coastal communities faced diminished water flow from community tanks and deep wells. The lack of water affected both household and agricultural use, exacerbating the already dire situation for the communities. Farmers in Kalinga faced high gasoline costs to operate water pumps, while those in Negros Oriental contended with reduced water availability, further complicating their agricultural activities. In both Kalinga and Negros Oriental, coping with the heat during El Niño involved seeking shade, timing water collection, and utilizing different containers for water storage. 

Photo: No water flows from an open faucet in Brgy. Santor, Rizal, Kalinga @Josephine C. Kusain/CARE

Health issues were widespread, with Kalinga reporting increased cases of coughs, diarrhea, hypertension, and joint pain among adults, while children and girls faced additional challenges such as urinary tract infections and chickenpox. The elderly and persons with disabilities faced barriers in accessing healthcare, with only basic medicines available and specialized treatments limited. Despite these challenges, communities demonstrated resilience by upholding traditional practices like bayanihan, supporting each other, and arranging prayer meetings for sick elders. Both men and women turned to traditional herbal medicine for minor health issues when modern healthcare was inaccessible.

Both men and women sought alternative employment opportunities to bolster their finances, with women in Kalinga diversifying their income by selling snacks, snails, and taro or providing domestic services, while men often sought work in urban areas. Mutual support through interest-free loans among neighbors or borrowing money to meet various needs helped families navigate the crisis.  

In terms of safety and protection, the Barangay Local Government Units in Kalinga implemented curfews, store closures, and a liquor ban to address alcohol-related issues. Despite these measures, an incident of rape involving minors prompted intervention from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, resulting in in-house schooling due to bullying concerns. Women also highlighted heightened online exposure due to shortened school hours. Girls indicated no specific safety concerns, relying on the Barangay Council and cultural practices rooted in ancestral lands to ensure community safety. In Negros Oriental, children avoided working in sugarcane fields due to the extreme heat. 

The RGA underscored the urgent need for immediate food aid, including staples like rice and nutritional supplements, to address malnutrition and hunger. Emergency livelihood assistance and cash-for-work programs are essential to help families meet their immediate needs. Additionally, distributing hygiene kits and ensuring emergency water supplies are crucial for addressing water and sanitation challenges.  

Photo: The rice grains are completely dried and will not mature because of the drought in Kalinga. @CorDis RDS

Reiza S. Dejito, CARE Philippines Country Director, emphasized the importance of coordinated efforts of the government, non-government organizations, and international agencies to address this crisis. “We need to increase the coping capacities of these communities by providing immediate life-saving relief and implementing long-term sustainable recovery plans to mitigate the impact of future climatic events.”  

CARE Philippines, with its extensive experience in emergency response and long-term recovery efforts, advocates for a comprehensive approach to resilience-building. This includes livelihood diversification, skills training, sustainable agriculture practices, improved water infrastructure and sanitation facilities, and strengthened community health services to handle critical health issues.

Mainstreaming Peace Education in Caraga

  • CARE Philippines
  • Featured Stories, Gender, Latest News & Stories, Press Release, Uncategorized

Agusan del Sur and Norte, March 2024 — The BRIDGE Project capped off the month of March—National Women’s Month—with workshops to help educators integrate peace education and peace-promoting values in their learning curriculum, conducted in collaboration with Common Reference Educators Workshop (CREW) and the Department of Education.

Held on March 21, 2024, in Agusan del Sur and on March 22, 2024, in Agusan del Norte, the activities gathered a total of 103 primary and secondary school teachers, teaching personnel, and administrators. 

Not just about conflict

A key takeaway is that peace “is not just talking about conflict or the absence of war,” as one female educator and workshop participant describes it. “It also talks about gender, the environment, health, and values. Peace is about accepting our diversities,” she says.  

Photo: ACCORD

The role of women educators

The BRIDGE Project believes that women educators and women’s civil society organizations (CSOs), along with youth CSOs and national government agencies like the Department of Education, play important roles in peace education and can lead the process of promoting a culture of peace. This entails enabling the meaningful participation of women and girls in peace education activities in school, which must be designed to empower them.

Gender and peace also need to be contextualized in learning tools, especially those highlighting indigenous communities’ peace-promoting practices.

Photo: ACCORD

Advocates of peace

“As duty bearers, we have the responsibility to nurture young people, our students,” says a participant.

Another one echoes this sentiment, saying, “We teachers are advocates of peace. We need to cultivate empathy in our students. [Because] most of the learners are very vulnerable and prone to negative coping mechanisms, we should be there to support [them].”

Addressing educators’ challenges

The workshops were designed to address four specific issues that educators typically face when trying to mainstream peace education:

  1. Messaging: how to discuss the subjects of peace, rights, and citizenship in a comprehensive and comprehensible way
  2. Adaptability: how to introduce these topics into the present curriculum of all levels in a non-ladderized, flexible platform
  3. Acceptability: how to integrate these into a framework or one common reference that various audiences will find helpful and fair
  4. Sustainability: how to sustain peace, rights, and citizenship education

It covered these in three sessions, including one on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and another on peace and diversity.

Photo: ACCORD

A holistic approach to peace education 

Apart from being informative and engaging, participants appreciated the breadth of the workshop topics. Says one participant, “At first, I thought we would be talking about the social injustices. But our discussion went beyond that. [We talked about how] health issues, persons with disabilities, cultural diversities, and environmental concerns are part of peace. Peace Education is a holistic approach. This training [can guide us on] the topics we can use in our lessons.”

Investing in women

In succeeding activities, BRIDGE will further highlight how gender is an important component of peace education, and how empowering women is central to promoting a culture of peace.

As the 2024 International Women’s Day theme reiterates, “If we invest in women, we accelerate progress.”

Photo: ACCORD
Photo: ACCORD
Photo: ACCORD

The “Civil Society, Women and Youth Promoting Culture of Peace in Mindanao” (BRIDGE) Project is funded by the European Commission and implemented by ACCORD Incorporated, CARE Philippines, Community Organizers Multiversity, and Oxfam Pilipinas.

Building Back Safer After Super Typhoon Egay

  • CARE Philippines
  • Blog, Disaster Response, Featured Stories, Gender, Latest News & Stories, Shelter

In a northern Philippine province, a woman and her community’s story of coming together and rebuilding safer houses

When Super Typhoon Egay (international name: Doksuri) struck the Philippines in July 2023, its rapid intensification took many by surprise. It dumped more than a month’s worth of rain in two days, damaged some 56,000 houses, and affected three million people. 

Miriam Bisares, 31, lost her home and almost all possessions. She lives with her husband and three children in a barangay (village) by a river in Abra, one of the worst-hit provinces. Running to safety that day was not easy. Her two older kids, ages 14 and 12, were ill with chicken pox and had to be carried. The flood submerged the paths to higher ground, so they had to cut a way through a thick tangle of grass and shrubs.

Today, her community remembers it as a difficult time, but alongside memories of the trials are ones of coming together and rebuilding. And despite the challenges, women like Miriam demonstrated capable leadership, playing a crucial part in helping her community learn how to become more resilient by building safer homes, with support from the European Union Humanitarian Aid and the ACCESS Project.

In the 14 years Miriam’s family had lived in Barangay Sao-atan in Bangued, Abra Province, they hadn’t experienced flooding as destructive as Super Typhoon Egay.

Their old shack—made of light materials and located a few meters away from the edge of a river cliff—was swept away completely. 

Recovery was hard. She occasionally finds work in sales as a “push girl” and “promodiser;” her husband is a merchandiser at a food manufacturing company but is not yet a regular employee.

That Barangay Sao-atan lies next to a river is both a blessing and a burden: on the one hand, residents get to plant crops on its fertile banks; on the other, it makes the village flood-prone.

The river also serves as a source of water for household use. During the rainy season, however, the water becomes murky and unusable. During dry spells, the river contracts, and residents have to climb down and up the steep river cliff while balancing one or two buckets.

At around 10 A.M., the water rose quickly. Amidst heavy rain and howling winds, Miriam’s family left their house and sought temporary shelter in this hut, which sits on slightly higher ground, further away from the river. 

By 6 P.M., the water was at their feet again. With a big knife, they slashed a path through the bushes to escape.

Months after the typhoon, damaged plastic “durabox” cabinets, scrubbed clean of mud and left to dry out in the sun, still litter the village.

Miriam’s family lost almost everything. Fortunately, her eldest had the presence of mind to save important documents, such as birth certificates, and even her parents’ high school diplomas.

When the floodwaters receded, cleanup—a collective community endeavor—commenced. Miriam and her family stayed with a relative for one month. Thanks to another relative, who owned an unproductive lot in an elevated part of the village and who let Miriam and other neighbors rebuild their houses on it, those affected by the flood were able to start anew in a safer location.

Through the ACCESS Project, Miriam and other residents severely affected by the typhoon received shelter assistance through repair kits and training sessions on how to build back safer. The project encouraged the community to work together to rebuild each other’s homes.

It also formed a shelter roving team, a group of community members that ensured houses were repaired or rebuilt properly. As part of the team, Miriam became well-versed in Building Back Safer (BBS) principles. She can explain why having strong bracing, interlocking joints, anchored posts, and other BBS techniques are key to building safer homes.

Miriam and her family moved into their new house a month before Christmas. 

“Malaki ang pagbabago. Safe at komportable kami dito. Hindi na kami nangangamba na maaabutan ng tubig kung sakaling may bagyo (It’s a huge difference. We’re safe and comfortable here. We don’t worry about the water reaching us in the event of a typhoon).”

– Miriam (Bangued, Abra)

The project also provided water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) assistance by building a water system and holding hygiene promotion activities. There are shaded benches near the water system where women sometimes congregate, working on chores together, or just staying for a chat.

“Sabi ng mga matatanda, himala daw na may tubig na kami dito. Dati na kasing problema yan (The elders say it’s a miracle we now have water here. That was always a problem),” says Miriam. 

These days, Miriam and her husband are focused on taking care of the children. He cooks for them before leaving for work; she walks them to and from school.

Asked what aspirations she has for the family, she says, “Pangarap ko na mapatapos silang tatlo sa pag-aaral para maganda ang kinabukasan nila (I hope we can support the three of them so they can finish school and have a better future.”

ACCESS gave shelter assistance to some 1,650 individuals and repaired 530 houses across the provinces of Abra and Cagayan. The project is funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations and implemented by ACCORD Inc., Action Against Hunger Philippines, Humanity and Inclusion Philippines, Community Organizers Multiversity, and CARE Philippines.

The Wave of Women-Managed Enterprises after Typhoon Rai: Shimalyn’s Story

It was lunchtime and Shimalyn Flores, 48, rushed to display the last tray of food she cooked to sell at her carenderia or roadside food stall in San Isidro, Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte. Soon, people will eat or buy food for their lunch. Some of them are those who tour the island and find themselves hungry along the highway.

She noted that small businesses like hers have sprouted now that tourism has become vibrant again since the onslaught of Typhoon Rai (Odette) in 2021. When the typhoon hit, most of the small businesses were destroyed. She used to cook hamburgers and viands that she peddled in different areas of the town. The typhoon damaged all her cooking equipment which made it even more difficult to start cooking and selling again.

As the sole breadwinner for her child and elderly parents, she was at a loss as to how to provide for her family. They relied on the relief goods and assistance given by the government and non-government humanitarian organizations to survive daily.

When the relief operations ended, she loaned from a financial service provider and invested in a small pushcart which she filled with rice-based delicacies, shaved ice dessert, burgers, viand, and other street food. She sold these around town in areas where foot traffic is heavy. She had to make sure that all her goods were sold so that she could pay her loan and provide for her family’s needs. Some days are good, and some days are bad for business, hence, she dreaded the times when her income was not enough to pay even the loan’s interest.

When CARE Philippines came and presented the WAVES (Women Adding Value to the Economy in Siargao) project to her community, Shimalyn was one of the participants who were selected to receive livelihood support from the project. Along with other small women entrepreneurs, she was trained by technical experts from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Surigao del Norte on financial literacy and entrepreneurship. She then received the project’s 15,000-peso cash grant for her livelihood recovery after the training.

“I became confident again to take the risks of improving my business because of what I learned on business and finance management and because I have the capital to use,” she shared.

She bought cooking equipment and ingredients and rented a space where she would sell her goods. She also included some groceries to diversify her products. She shared that having a rented space made selling easier for her than before when she went from one community to another carrying her goods.

“I have increased my income. I am also paying up my loan. And I was able to provide better for my family,” she added.

CARE Philippines works with 1,175 women and men entrepreneurs in Santa Monica, Burgos, San Isidro, Pilar, Del Carmen and Dapa municipalities in Siargao in recovering and sustaining their livelihood and increasing their resiliency through the WAVES project supported by the Tijori Foundation.

The Wave of Women-Led Enterprises after Typhoon Rai: Madel’s Story

It’s a busy day as tourists swarm the line of stalls at the popular Maasin River in Barangay Maasin, Pilar, Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte. Madel Elimanco, 39, stands at the front of her shop and invites tourists to check the various goods she sells. She has souvenir items such as shirts, bags, shell ornaments, accessories made of coconuts, and delicacies that are sought after by people who flock to the island.

She still gets overwhelmed whenever she earns more than she expects on a day of selling. She remembered how difficult it was for her and her husband to get back on their feet when Typhoon Rai (Odette) struck in 2021. Their stall where they used to sell hot cakes, processed foods, and coconut shell souvenirs was swept away by the strong winds. After the onslaught, her husband who was a tour guide and surfing instructor struggled to find income when all tourists had gone, and the island was left in ruins.

As much as Madel wanted to recover their assets and start selling again, they had no capital to use. She wanted to find a job so that they could survive the daily challenge of putting food on the table and taking care of their children’s needs.

“It was hard for me to find another job because I’m used to running a small business. I wasn’t confident to do something that I don’t have the right skills for”, she said. 

CARE Philippines through Project WAVES (Women Adding Value to the Economy in Siargao) identified Madel as one of the women entrepreneurs to be engaged as a project participant who will lead their livelihood recovery. She participated in a series of livelihood and financial literacy training and was supported to recover her assets and improve and diversify her products through financial assistance.

“Before, I only sell a few items. Now, I have more products displayed and sold in my souvenir shop”, she shared.

CARE Philippines works with 1,175 women and men entrepreneurs in Santa Monica, Burgos, San Isidro, Pilar, Del Carmen and Dapa municipalities in Siargao Island in recovering and sustaining their livelihood and increasing their resiliency through the WAVES project supported by the Tijori Foundation.

CAREPh, DOST-PCAARRD forged partnership to support smallholder farmers 

Photo: DOST-PCAARRD

CARE Philippines and the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARD) signed an MOU to provide a holistic package of farming solutions to smallholder vegetable farmers in Mabitac, Famy, Sta. Maria, and Pangil, Laguna province on February 12.  

This will be made possible through the Asenso sa Good Agriculture Package (aGAP) Social Enterprise project being implemented in the said municipalities where vegetables are the prime commodity. Small-scale farmers in these areas have costly and or unreliable access to farming inputs, technology, and markets for their produce. Moreover, they suffer from losses caused by natural hazards such as drought, flooding, and typhoons.  

Reiza S. Dejito, CARE Philippines Country Director emphasized the importance of collaborating with the DOST-PCAARRD in increasing farmers’ resilience by accessing necessary resources through the latter’s Agri-Aqua Business Hub.  

“It’s an alliance that promises to harness the best of science, technology, and community spirit to break down barriers, open doors to opportunities, and pave the way for a new generation of entrepreneurs in agriculture and aquaculture,” she said.  

Photo: DOST-PCAARRD

The Agri-Aqua Business Hub is DOST-PCAARRD’s new platform for technology promotion, transfer, and commercialization that offers a diverse range of services. In this project, these are innovative, client-focused, and sustainable agricultural support services that would improve the livelihood of more than 2,000 smallholder farmers in Laguna.  

“Working together, we can offer personalized advice, training, and support that is more closely aligned with farmers’ individual circumstances and goals,” shared Dr. Reynaldo V. Ebora, DOST-PCAARRD Executive Director.  

Photo: DOST-PCAARRD

aGAP SE is a social enterprise project that offers a range of solutions such as seed, fertilizer, farm tools, and equipment while providing education, financial connection, and market facilitation to smallholder farmers through collaboration and partnership with local government units, government line agencies, businesses, and other stakeholders.  

It is supported by the Tijori Foundation, a long-time partner of CARE Philippines in humanitarian and development initiatives.  

The Wave of Women-Led Enterprises after Typhoon Rai: Rosana’s Story

  • Mary Therese Norbe
  • Featured Stories, Latest News & Stories, Stories of Change

“I was able to expand my business and increased my income through the project’s assistance. I can now provide for the needs of my family, and I won’t have to work elsewhere and away from my children”, shared Rosana, 36, a woman entrepreneur in Del Carmen municipality in Siargao.  

She and her husband, Olibert, manage an eatery that sells cooked food, grilled meat, coconut drinks, and various sundry items. Locals and tourists who crave cheap comfort food have been coming and going. The business brings considerable income to support their family of six.  

This was far-fetched from their situation more than a year ago when super typhoon Rai, locally known as Odette, ravaged everything they had in just a few hours of destruction. They lost their cooking equipment and ingredients. Their food stall was also destroyed.  

They used up their business capital and savings to survive the first few months after the typhoon. To ensure that their children’s needs were taken care of, her husband sold young coconut juice to tourists who were slowly coming back to the island. However, it barely brought money to the household because of the unstable supply of young coconuts affected by the typhoon.  

So, Rosana made the difficult choice of leaving her family. She worked as a house helper in another municipality and stayed there for six months. She endured the worry of being away so she could earn money.

“If I didn’t work, I was afraid I couldn’t give my children the support they needed at that time”, she said.

She longed to go back home and restart their business. However, their income couldn’t afford them to put up the needed business capital. When CARE introduced project WAVES (WoMen Adding Value to the Economy in Siargao) to their community, she was selected as one of its participants. The project aims to assist typhoon-affected small entrepreneurs, like her, to recover their livelihood and reintegrate them into the local tourism industry of the island.  

She underwent training organized by the project to improve the financial and entrepreneurial capacities and competencies of project participants. She then received financial assistance which she used to buy cooking equipment and set up their shop.  

“I learned to record and monitor our income and expenditure and started saving again”, she said. With their business thriving, she added that they had more time spent with their children and didn’t have to worry about not being able to provide for their needs.  

Project WAVES is a partnership between CARE and the Tijori Foundation to build resilient livelihoods for typhoon-affected small entrepreneurs in the community-based tourism value chain. 

Managing a Community-Based Coconut Nursery: The Padillos of Calape, Bohol

  • Mary Therese Norbe
  • Featured Stories, Latest News & Stories, Other Topic, Stories of Change

“I’ve learned how to manage a nursery which farmers can establish in their own farms. The training also encouraged us to be smart on how we plant coconuts as well as other crops to avoid losses due to changes in weather conditions”, said Lorna Padillos, 47, a farmer from Barangay Lucob, Calape, Bohol.

She is the manager of the community coconut nursery which is located in a patch of land near their family’s farmhouse. She and her husband, Silvestre, take turns ensuring that the nursery is well taken care of and secured from being damaged by farm animals.

One hundred coconut farmers who are partners in the implementation of the RISE Coco (Recovery Intervention for SEverely Affected Coconut Farming Communities of Bohol by ST Odette) project in Barangay Lucob presently use the nursery to propagate seed nuts and prepare seedlings for planting in their respective farms. Lorna shared that the nursery became a learning venue for them to apply good coconut farming practices such as choosing the best variety of seed nuts to propagate, using organic compost or vermicast as fertilizer, and deciding the appropriate time of the year to plant based on climate conditions that they learned from the series of training conducted through the project. They were also trained on how to manage their finances and how to save for emergencies such as typhoon Odette which took almost everything they own.

“We used to live comfortably before the typhoon. We had a house, a coconut, and a rice farm. We also raised poultry and livestock and tended a vegetable garden for food”, she said.

The typhoon left only one room of their house for them to live in for a while. They lost the coconuts, rice, farm animals, and vegetables to the harsh winds and heavy rains. The experience left the couple devastated and didn’t know how to provide for their family’s daily needs.

They received financial and material assistance from the government which only lasted for a couple of months. They had to rely on one of their children who was already working to provide them with money for repairing their house and to have something to eat daily. To start farming, they borrowed money from lenders to buy farm inputs like seeds and fertilizers. However, they found it difficult to source coconut seedlings because all of Bohol was heavily affected by the typhoon.

When the RISE Coco project staff conducted a consultation in their barangay in August 2022, their family was selected as one of the beneficiaries in their community and were oriented about the project. They accepted to be part of the project because of their interest in recovering their coconut farm. She and her husband underwent training on financial literacy and sustainable good agriculture including climate-resilient coconut farming.

With the establishment of the nursery, Lorna became its manager. This was during the long dry season and propagating seed nuts was a challenge because of the intense heat. She and her husband, along with other farmers took turns in watering the seed nuts every day to prevent them from withering. Their hard work paid off. By October 2023, they were able to propagate almost 3,9678 seed nuts and seedlings. Out of these, they have replanted 2,849 coconuts in various beneficiary farms.  

As a manager, she has the challenging task of encouraging her fellow coconut farmers to be responsible for their seed nuts and seedlings in the nursery. She sees it as a sustainable source of seedlings and income for the members. Many farms in the province are still struggling to find a good source of copra-quality seedlings. Community-based nurseries that are well-managed like theirs could earn from selling their seedlings.

“We rehabilitate our farms and we will no longer worry about where to get seedlings when we need them”, she added. 

The RISE Coco project aims to address the critical needs of typhoon Odette-affected coconut farmers for livelihood support, primarily the alternative sources of income while rehabilitating their damaged coconut trees in 2 years. It is implemented by CARE in partnership with the CebuBohol Relief and Rehabilitation Center and supported by Cargill.

World Humanitarian Day 2023 Message

  • CARE Philippines
  • Blog, Featured Stories, Latest News & Stories

This message was delivered by CARE Philippines’ Program Manager for ECHO Actions, Ansherina Talavera on the Worl Humanitarian Day 2023 commemoration at the Peoples’ Palace in Cotabato City.

“Globally, and here at home, we face a new norm marked by increasingly frequent and devastating disasters. Natural hazards, armed conflict and violence, climate challenges, and environmental crises are realities that confront us now and in the future. 

As humanitarians, the context we work in and the challenges we face in delivering life-saving humanitarian aid are also evolving and becoming more complex. 

On this World Humanitarian Day, we reaffirm our commitment to the values and humanitarian principles that guide us to stand shoulder to shoulder with the communities and people we serve, no matter who, no matter where and #NoMatterWhat. 

#NoMatterWho – We commit to continue to provide humanitarian assistance without discrimination, recognizing that each life is of equal value. WE are committed to deliver humanitarian assistance regardless of nationality, religious belief, gender, class or political opinion. We reach out and provide assistance to people affected by disasters and who are most in need. 

#NoMatterWhere – We deliver humanitarian aid no matter where, giving priority to last mile communities. We remain steadfast with our mission to alleviate human suffering and provide aid where it is needed the most. We deliver support to last mile communities, the most affected, the most vulnerable, the hardest to reach, and receiving less assistance or none at all.  

#NoMatterWhat – We deliver assistance no matter what the difficulties we face. As humanitarians, we ensure the safety of staff and disaster-affected populations, and that no harm befall them. And this means careful planning, diligent implementation, and unwavering dedication to overcome these challenges, to provide humanitarian assistance – no matter what.

In the context of localisation, #NoMatterWhat signifies our resolve to invest in strengthening local capacities, ensuring that the burden of risks is not shifted to local partners and humanitarian actors.

Placing people and communities at the core of our humanitarian work, and our unshakeable commitment to uphold the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence, we have developed strong partnerships with local NGOs, and key duty-bearers, foremost the government at local, subnational and national levels, and the donor community. As we face more complex situations ahead, we will hold on to the humanitarian principles as the solid foundation of our partnerships with rights-holders and duty-bearers alike, believing in everyone’s humanity. #NoMatterWhere, #NoMatterWho and #NoMatterWhat.  

CARE and its partner ACCORD set up a photo gallery in commemoration of WHD2023 in Cotabato City.
CARE and its partner ACCORD set up a photo gallery in commemoration of the WHD2023 in Cotabato City.

CARE, partners prepare for STS Egay as it intensifies into a typhoon

  • CARE Philippines
  • Featured Stories, Latest News & Stories, Press Release, Uncategorized

Manila, Philippines (July 23, 2023)- CARE and its local partners prepare for Severe tropical storm Egay (international name “Doksuri”) as it has further intensified while moving west-northwestward over the Philippine Sea and is forecasted to reach typhoon category within 24 hours and may become a super typhoon on Tuesday.  

In its 5 p.m. weather bulletin on July 23 the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) forecasted STS Egay to bring heavy rainfall in Catanduanes, Cagayan, the eastern section of Isabela, Polilio Islands, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Albay. The forecasted rainfall is generally higher in elevated or mountainous areas. And under these conditions, flooding and rain-induced landslides are possible, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards as identified in hazard maps and in localities that experienced considerable amounts of rainfall for the past several days.

In the next three days, STS Egay may also enhance the Southwest Monsoon, bringing occasional rains and gustiness over several areas in the country.

CARE and its partners, Leyte Center for Development and Tarabang para Bicol (TABI) prepare and are ready to respond to the combined effects of STS Egay and the Southwest monsoon and the needs of vulnerable communities that would be affected in Catanduanes, Eastern Visayas, and Bicol Region respectively.

“We have a field office in Catanduanes and ongoing humanitarian programs with our partners in the areas that would be potentially affected by STS Egay. We are ready to activate assessment and quick response mechanisms in coordination with our partner organizations and local government units on the ground”, said Jerome Lanit, CARE Philippines’ Emergency Coordinator.

CARE has been working in the Philippines since 1949, helping communities prepare for disasters, and providing emergency relief and recovery when disaster strikes. It has responded to major disasters such as typhoons and super typhoons, conflicts, and seismologic and health emergencies with focus on the needs of women and girls.

Contact Person:

Jerome L. Lanit, Emergency Coordinator

09175109417

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