Dulag

Update – As previously planned, Annie left the Philippines on January 11 to return to Canada where we now await the birth of our ninth grandchild! I will remain in Tacloban until February 24th. Annie’s departure also explains the lengthy delay in providing this blog update and unfortunately, I will not be as diligent as she always is in ensuring you are kept up to date on our activities.

The Municipality of Dulag, with a population of 50,000, is a coastal community situated in the province of Leyte, approximately 60 kilometres south of Tacloban City, where we are headquartered. There are 45 barangays (a barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward); within the municipality and World Renew has committed to establishing a partnership with five of these.

All five barangays are located in the north-east section of the municipality and since they are rural, they are much like small independent villages. The smallest has 175 households while the largest has 275 households. As we establish relationships with the leaders of each barangay and spend time with the people, we will determine the best way to support them in restoring their livelihoods, rebuilding their homes, and providing other assistance.  To date, we have provided the communities with four KW generators. These provide some limited street lighting for a few hours in the evening as a security measure and are also a location to recharge cell phone batteries during the daytime. Within the barangay, a ‘Generator Committee’ comprised of three male and three female members of the community is responsible for establishing rules around the use and operation of the generators. Within the next two weeks we also hope to be in a position to distribute a number of essential ‘non-food’ items to each household – a small cast iron wood-burning cooking stove, sleeping mats, a mosquito net, some towels, some dishes, a wash basin, a cooking pot, a solar lantern, etc.

 

We have met with Mayor Manuel Sia Que, established contacts within the municipal office, met with the Barangay Chairpersons and various Councillors several times, as well as meetings with the Generator Committees within each barangay.

 

We are connecting with Medair another international non-governmental organization that is working in the Dulag area. They have plans at this time to build 600 temporary shelters for the most vulnerable in the area. We met with them to see how we can learn from their experience and their research and assessments to date and hopefully work with them. We need to learn about best practices and explore various typhoon-proof house designs as well as obtain input from each of our communities.

The majority of people living in these rural barangays are primarily engaged in rice farming and growing coconuts – both have been severely impacted. The rice, although harvested just prior to the typhoon, is too wet to use as seed. Fortunately the Department of Agriculture was able to provide some of the farmers with seeds and some of the rice fields have been planted while others are lying fallow.

Their progress is hindered by fallen coconut trees, the lack of available seeds and fertilizer, storm-damaged machinery and insufficient funds to pay for seeds or workers.  The owners of the fields and the workers live in the same community so all are affected. Coconut farming has been decimated by the hundreds of trees that have snapped like toothpicks at the top or have been uprooted during Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). For the moment these wrecked trees can be used for temporary shelter reconstruction but require chainsaws and trained operators to cut the timber into useable lumber.

However, most people cannot afford this service. Related coconut industries are also shut down and it will take five years to grow new coconut trees that are mature enough to produce fruit.

Since farming is on hold, we have been discussing the need for alternative livelihoods with these communities, encouraging them to stretch their imaginations to find long-term solutions that will benefit the whole community. We will walk alongside them over the coming months to develop specific proposals that are aimed at bringing restoration to their families and their communities. We are excited about some of the opportunities that are emerging.

 

Below are some photos of what we see as we drive to and from Dulag each week. We hope all of this will be helpful in helping you understand the challenges our Filipino friends will continue to face for months and no doubt, years to come.