Online donations through\u00a0UMC #GivingTuesday<\/a>\u00a0last year to\u00a0International Disaster Response<\/a>supported UMCOR\u2019s work in a number of ways. One of them was to help UMCOR rebuild homes that were destroyed during Typhoon Haiyan, which decimated parts of the Philippines. On the first anniversary of the super storm, an update on recovery efforts follows.<\/em><\/p>\n November 4, 2014\u2014This Saturday, November 8, marks exactly one year since Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, devastated large stretches of the Philippines, and much successful recovery has been achieved throughout that year.<\/p>\n UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, has been committed to help the rebuilding of houses and village resources in the municipality of Tanauan in Leyte Province. And just as importantly, UMCOR has helped badly hit populations to look to the future with hope.<\/p>\n The local\u00a0barangay<\/em>\u00a0(or neighborhood community) of Calogcog, has been the focus of UMCOR\u2019s work. It has concentrated on providing new houses for those who lost their old homes\u2014and in the same locality rather than requiring families to move elsewhere.<\/p>\n New and sturdier homes for more than 200 families will be the ultimate result, since the \u201cBuild Back Better\u201d principle has been a guiding light for the UMCOR team.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been determined that the new homes be built to withstand any future typhoon with the force of Yolanda or even stronger,\u201d says UMCOR\u2019s Assistant General Secretary for International Disaster Response, Rev Jack Amick.<\/p>\n Solid foundations, with an abundant use of concrete, are a vital part of UMCOR\u2019s approach, bringing a significant change to villages where buildings tend to have cement walls that extend only to about knee-high and then are topped with wood and reeds.<\/p>\n The intensive rebuilding program became the heart of UMCOR\u2019s work several months after the typhoon struck. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, needs such as food and other emergency supplies had naturally been the greatest priority of the hardest hit families.<\/p>\n Since April of this year, speed in construction has been a hallmark of the program, especially once the initial foundations were laid. While the first six houses were completed in two months, momentum then grew rapidly, with 14 homes then being provided within a single month.<\/p>\n Crucially, says Amick, \u201chomes are being rebuilt in the very neighborhoods where people used to live instead of having families relocate\u2014with all the extra tensions that can accompany such a huge upheaval.\u201d<\/p>\n Consultation with Calogcog\u2019s residents has been an essential part of the exercise. Every new home is customized to meet the specific needs of a particular family, starting, of course, with size. Constraints and opportunities offered by the lay of the land in any particular lot also help to bring to each house individuality and specifically helpful design features.<\/p>\n While the new homes evidence physical recovery, UMCOR\u2019s work also is having less visible, but nevertheless substantial effects among the area\u2019s residents. \u201cA stronger community as well as the stronger structures is something very valuable that we see emerging out of this ongoing collaboration,\u201d Amick points out.<\/p>\n In line with UMCOR\u2019s Disaster Risk Reduction priority, plans are being drawn for improved evacuation arrangements, should that need arise again someday. The new homes with their much more solid structures will be supplemented with equally sturdy communal shelters for evacuees.<\/p>\n After a year of collaborative work between UMCOR and the people of Calogcog, the community is well on its way to having developed a deeper faith in a safer future.<\/p>\n This year, Global Ministries will again provide matching grants, up to $1 million**, for online donations made to any project through\u00a0The Advance<\/a>\u00a0as part of UMC #GivingTuesday, Dec. 2, \u201cWhen Methodists Are United.\u201d One hundred percent of gifts given go to projects designated by the donor through The Advance, The United Methodist Church\u2019s giving channel.<\/p>\n For resources to promote and share UMC #GivingTuesday, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nSpeedy Construction<\/h3>\n
Stronger Community<\/h3>\n
UMC #GivingTuesday, Dec. 2<\/h3>\n
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