Bring hope amid utter destruction in the Philippines

“Help. We need water, food and medicines.”  The sight of desperate children holding up these signs is just one of many heartbreaking scenes our teams are witnessing in the Philippines as they assess the damage wreaked by super typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda.

Clockwise from top: A Filipino boy scales a brakewater at a coastal village in Las Pinas city, south of Manila, Philippines, which has been struck by one of the strongest storms on record. Photo: EPA/Francis R. Malasig. A Filipino resident carries a baby as they cross a river. People who rely on fishing for their livelihoods have seen their boats and tackle destroyed. Photo: EPA/Francis R. Malasig. In Cebu, 98 per cent of houses and buildings have been damaged, including a building being used as an evacuation centre. Families sleep on the floor as they seek refuge inside a gymnasium turned into an evacuation centre in Sorsogon City, Bicol region, Philippines. Photo: EPA/Kit Recebido. 

With their crops wiped out, fishing boats ruined and homes destroyed, it is the poorest that have been hardest hit by this violent and deadly storm.

Making sure people have clean water, safe sanitation and a roof over their heads is our immediate priority.

My colleague Tata Abella-Bolo, a member of Oxfam’s emergency team on the ground in the Cebu area where these children were seen begging for help, tells us: “The scene is one of utter devastation. There is no electricity in the entire area and no water. Local emergency food stocks have been distributed but stocks are dwindling. The immediate need is water, both for drinking and for cleaning.”

Oxfam has been working in the Philippines for many years. This super typhoon has affected 4 million people and comes on the heels of a deadly earthquake and a storm last month that wiped out rice harvests in what is the world’s third highest disaster risk country.

There is a strong connection between the Philippines and the island of Ireland, where Philipinos are an integral part of our local communities. We urgently need your help to bring life-saving emergency aid to those worst affected by Haiyan.

Please give what you can today. 

Jim Clarken is Chief Executive of Oxfam Ireland.