The effects of climate change: Typhoon Odette in the Philippines

The frequency of typhoons in the Philippines have made typhoons a significant part of everyday ancient and modern Filipino culture, however, Climate Change has only made their effects even more destructive. Such rapid intensification, creates challenges for the Filipino population, who increasingly have no choice but to prepare for the worst.

At the end of December 2021, Typhoon Rai (known locally as Odette) swept through southern and central Philippines, leaving a devastated landscape behind. Our Filipino partner Bidlisiw Foundation was hit very hard even in their own premises. Despite the situation, they did not give up and resumed their activities very quickly in a temporary building.

The scale and magnitude of the impact of Typhoon Rai created overwhelming needs. Needs that Bidlisiw mobilised to respond to. Together with the youth, they developed a plan for the reconstruction of the affected areas, which included, among other things, the provision of building materials for the repair of 180 family houses, as well as street lighting as a back-up solution to ensure night-time lighting that contributes to people's safety, but is also suitable for possible future disasters.

In addition, the youth involved also aimed to support the mental well-being of other youth. One way for them to achieve that, was via organising group discussions on mental well-being hosted by Bidlisiw. They also conducted a public awareness campaign: two volunteers designed two posters with information in the local language around disaster warning signs and protective measures to be taken. These were printed in a water-resistant format and distributed by the volunteers to beneficiary families and in public locations such as churches.


? You can find out more about KIYO's work with our partners in the Philippines here: https://www.kiyo-ngo.be/what-we-do/countries/philippines

 ➡️ Would you like to learn more about super typhoons in the Philippines? You can read this article (NL) from 11.11.11 : https://11.be/camp.../verhalen/supertyfoons-op-de-filipijnen