The Episcopal Church in the Philippines, working closely with Anglican agencies and the Anglican Alliance, has developed a ground-breaking project to rebuild stronger communities in areas most affected by Typhoon Haiyan.
Immediately after the disaster, the Church provided food and emergency relief through the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, enabled by a fantastic response to appeals from around the world.
The second phase of the Church’s relief mission will involve rebuilding homes and restoring livelihoods in the most vulnerable communities.
The Episcopal Church in the Philippines has identified key objectives for the project, with a focus on disaster-risk-reduction and climate change adaptation. Episcopal Relief & Development and Anglican Board of Mission have both helped develop the project and will be on the ground to help the Church take forward the project for the next 3-4 years.
Floyd Lalwet, Provincial Secretary and National Development Officer for ECP, has detailed a full proposal here. Information on how you can donate to the appeal are also in this document.
You can also support the Church’s project by donating to these Anglican agencies that are running appeals for the emergency in the Philippines:
Anglican Board of Mission (Australia)
Anglican Overseas Aid (Australia)
Episcopal Relief & Development (US)
Primates World Relief and Development Fund (Canada)
Us – formerly USPG (UK)
Four target communities have been identified for this innovative initiative, which seeks to turn those receiving aid into those who can give aid to others. It will empower people to help each other to rehabilitate their communities after the crisis.
In Barangays Bayog 343 households will be the focus of the relief response; in Sabang Bao 560 households; in Ormoc City and Barangays Cabuluran there are 240 households; and in Maliwaliw there are 138 households in the municipality of Dagami, Leyte.
A fifth community is being explored in Bantayan Island in Cebu province where the Episcopal Diocese of Davao is active. Further on in the year, the Episcopal Diocese of Central Philippines will reach out to three more communities in the province of Aklan.
The four priority communities are based in remote mountainous or coastal areas of the Philippines and are out of the reach of international agencies and current relief efforts.
Physical access is a major challenge, but the Church is committed to responding in the places that would not otherwise be reached.
As well as partner communities and Anglican agencies, the Church is engaged with the Philippine Centre for Social Entreprise (PCSE), which has social entreprises running in areas affected by the super-typhoon.
The Church will come alongside PCSE and help restore these entreprises, and provide the infrastructure and tools needed to revive the economy.
A full outline of the project and how you can donate can be seen here. And we continue to support the Church in the Philippines with our prayers.
Picture: by Sara Delaney, Programme Officer for Episcopal Relief & Development, who visited the Philippines in December to work with ECP staff on the long-term proposal. More information on her visit can be found on the Episcopal Relief & Development website.
