In the Philippines, recovery continues from Typhoon Washi flooding that devastated communities in late 2011. ChildFund has invested in livelihood skills training for out-of-school youth. They are learning to print T-shirts and bags to raise money to help their families, or fund their return to school.
Happy to report that ChildFund-supported communities in the southern Philippines narrowly escaped harm following last week’s Super Typhoon Bopha (Pablo). In this photo, a staff member in the Philippines validates community safety reports. Children and family members are safe and accounted for in all 15 communities where ChildFund works in this region. We believe this is due to the risk mitigation and emergency preparedness work that we have been doing with the local government.
Keeping a close eye on Super Typhoon Pablo, which is making landfall in the Mindanao region of the Philippines. The storm’s path is expected to stretch across the whole of Mindanao and the Visayas, with massive destruction, flooding and landslides predicted in areas where ChildFund and our partner organizations are operating. We have an emergency team standing by in ChildFund’s Philippines national office, ready to assist children and family members following the storm.
![JHONLEE’S NEW BICYCLE: The Korea Environment Corp. partnered with ChildFund Korea to provide bicycles to children in the Philippines who must travel long distances from their homes to school. Each child received a brand-new bicycle, a riding helmet, a small air pump and a tire repair kit. “I’m going to install a wooden board here,” says Jhonlee, pointing to the section of frame between the seat and handlebar. “That way, my two [younger] brothers can ride while I pedal us to school,” he explains.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb6xobNVm21roe0v9o1_500.jpg)
JHONLEE’S NEW BICYCLE: The Korea Environment Corp. partnered with ChildFund Korea to provide bicycles to children in the Philippines who must travel long distances from their homes to school. Each child received a brand-new bicycle, a riding helmet, a small air pump and a tire repair kit. “I’m going to install a wooden board here,” says Jhonlee, pointing to the section of frame between the seat and handlebar. “That way, my two [younger] brothers can ride while I pedal us to school,” he explains.
| — | Roniel, 17. In the Philippines, many children labor on sugarcane plantations instead of attending school regularly. ChildFund is working to change that under the ABK2 Initiative, a special project for combating child labor through education. We are incorporating child protection interventions into training for teachers, para-teachers and youth advocates (“little teachers”) like Roniel, who was a child laborer and is now tutoring younger children who have fallen behind in their studies. One of the objectives of the ABK2 program is to increase community awareness of the importance of education and the difference between acceptable child work and exploitative child labor. |
ChildFund’s urban projects in Manila, Philippines, have flooded during heavy monsoon rains and two typhoons. This young boy pumps water from a deep well into a jerry can, which he’ll have to carry all the way to his home, and perhaps help his family wash clothes soiled by the floods.
