IOM #Philippines Emergency Response Newsletter (November 2014) by International Organization for Migration (IOM)

IOM PHILIPPINES EMERGENCY RESPONSE DELIVERING RELIEF AND RECOVERY TO COMMUNITIES IN EMERGENCIES AND POST-CRISIS

November 2014

President Benigno Aquino III handing over Certificates of Occupancy to new residents in IOM’s newly constructed transitional site Cogon ©IOM 2014 Map of IOM field offices

Highlights of the month • • •

• • • • •

Typhoon Haiyan One-Year Commemorations across the Visayas with the visit of His Excellency President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III to Guiuan Over 1,300 transitional shelters have been built in Haiyan affected areas ECHO donor visit in Zamboanga City

Gaps and Needs

Over4,100 families in the Haiyan affected areas are still in displacement sites Living conditions of IDPs in the Grandstand Evacuation Centre in Zamboanga City remains poor Durable solutions are urgently needed for vulnerable communities in Haiyan affected-areas and Zamboanga City Procure and have stockpiling of materials such as emergency shelter materials, and other non-food items in case of future disasters Disaster Risk Reduction Management capacity building trainings for local government partners and community leaders.

Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda CCCM (Camp Coordination and Camp Management) SNAPSHOT

44,623

Individuals assisted with Site Management Support

20,984

10,027

Displaced individuals benefited from Camp Management

Individuals Trained in Camp Management

20,984

Displaced individuals benefited from Camp Management

Emma’s story: Discovering Leadership Emma Zorita is a 52 year-old music teacher. According to Emma, music is founded on harmony - but after the typhoon, her sense of harmony was lost in all the chaos as she sought refuge inside the bunkhouse. When IOM assisted the local government of Ormoc in managing the bunkhouse community of Concepcion, Emma decided to take the role of the bunkhouse president and now oversees more than 420 families. Emma believes that the CCCM trainings given by IOM helped to give her the confidence to manage her community. Emma says: “IOM has been very supportive. I now know what to do in case of another storm, who to contact and where to go”. Emma Zorita in Concepcion Bunkhouse in Ormoc ©IOM 2014

cont.. Emma’s

story: Discovering Leadership

IOM’s CCCM programme provides direct assistance to the affected people by building the capacity of IDP leaders, camp managers and local government officials. The capacity building sessions focus on various skills from leadership, to disaster risk reduction, prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and human trafficking. The main goal of these CCCM activities is to build resilient communities. Now as Emma serves as the bunkhouse president, she seems to handle it by maintaining the harmony among her community. Now she feels stronger, more resilient and more confident in her own capacity.

SHELTER SNAPSHOT

41,958

Families benefiting from Recovery Shelter Kits

50,840

Individuals attended the Safer Shelter Construction Technical Training

1,317

Transitional Shelters completed

320

Transitional Shelters on-going

One year after Typhoon Haiyan, the IOM Procurement and Logistics team based in Cebu covering to accelerate its work in an effort to further reduce the number of people living in 55 displacement sites and provide them with safer homes and better lives before the end of the year. Responsible for receiving and dispatching the materials needed to repair and to build new shelters, the Cebu Sub-Office has successfully delivered needed materials to for North Cebu, Ormoc, Roxas and Negros, Guiuan, Tacloban, and Zamboanga. Since November 2013, 264,000 corrugated galvanized iron sheets (CGIs), 66,000 ridge rolls, 12,000 tools kits and 12,000 fixing kits have been dispatched to IOM sub-offices for shelter repairs. Also delivered is dozens of construction materials for transitional shelters which have so far benefited more than 1,300 families. IOM Warehouse in Cebu ©IOM 2014

During the One-Year Commemoration of Typhoon Haiyan, IOM in Guiuan, together with its partners, officially inaugurated a new transitional shelter site called Cogon. The 133 beneficiary families, who will now live in the Cogon Site received a Certificate of Occupancy, 20 of whom were personally awarded by President Benigno Aquino III. Benito Gagarino and his wife Gregoria Gagarino were one of the beneficiary families. Having lost their home in coastal Guiuan, Benito’s family initially resided in a tent city. After one year, they were able to move to the transitional site built by IOM. As part of their welcome package, the family received a sack of rice, canned food, a family kit composed of bath and wash soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, kitchen ware and hygiene kits. “Living in tent city was difficult; we have been suffering from heat during the daytime and a cold breeze at night time. Our children always got sick. Now we are so grateful we have been relocated here and were given such shelter assistance. We can now start a new life together with our children. Thank you for all the support we have received”, says Benito.

Cogon Transitional Site in Guiuan, Eastern Samar will house 133 displaced families ©IOM 2014

HEALTH SNAPSHOT

111,954

Medical consultations

2,754

Medical referrals

27,945

Expanded Programme on Immunization/ Vaccines

5,303

Dental consultations

10,849

Maternal Child Health consultations

The IOM Health Unit in Roxas continues to carry out its programmes throughout the region, including health care staff augmentation in selected Rural Health Units, health promotion and education, medical referrals for life-saving measures and diagnostic workups. In November, IOM’s medical outreach activities have covered 22 barangays, catering to 2,944 patients. Several of these barangays are isolated and hard-to-reach. IOM also successfully assisted nine patients with cataract extraction. More of such activities are planned in the coming months. Furthermore, IOM organized the Minimum Initial Services Package Training in partnership with the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines and funded by AmeriCares and the Government of Norway. The three-day session on 1719 November was attended by 40 local health professionals (public health nurses and midwives) and aimed to capacitate local healthcare staff on issues such as sexual and genderbased violence, maternal and new born health, sexually transmitted infections and HIV, sexual and reproductive health, and Country Action Planning.

IOM Roxas Medical Outreach team on their way to Barangay Barangcalan Carles, Iloilo © IOM 2014

Resilience: Jonalyn’s Story For Jonalyn Lobaton, a mother from Adlawan, Roxas City, the past year after Typhoon Yolanda was marked by one challenge after another. Her daughter Jamela was born a month before the typhoon struck and diagnosed with neonatal sepsis. Soon after, Jonalyn was heartbroken to learn that her daughter had developed cataracts in both eyes. Then after three days, Typhoon Haiyan struck and destroyed the house of the Lobaton family. “I felt defeated”, says Jonalyn, recalling the hardship. “but I have a baby to care for, I couldn’t just lie on my back.” She stayed at her brother’s house, but could not start rebuilding their home because the most of their earnings went to her daughter’s special needs. Moreover, baby Jamela was hospitalized twice more for pneumonia. “I was very thankful for IOM for qualifying us as beneficiaries of shelter materials. I was hesitant at first but I decided to ask for help for my daughter’s condition”, she adds. With IOM’s support, Jamela was brought to the City Health Office, underwent diagnostic examination and is now scheduled for a cataract extraction. “I have new materials to rebuild my home and my daughter’s future is starting to look bright. I felt Christmas came early this year for us,” says Jonalyn with a smile on her face.

Jonalyn carries Jamela inside the ruins of their old home © IOM 2014

PROTECTION SNAPSHOT

45,475

Individuals oriented on protection issues

78,776

2,953

Individuals reached through protection Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials

Individuals trained, partners’ capacity building activities

2,811

Individuals assisted through protection support activities

“Traffic Jam to End Human Trafficking” Young people are among the most vulnerable groups in Philippine society, with risk of being trafficked because of poverty and lack of access to education. In Eastern Visayas alone, the number of human trafficking cases increased following the typhoon. IOM conducted a four-day youth camp ‘Traffic Jam to End Human Trafficking’ on 13-17 November in Hacienda Verde, Tacloban City. Around 62 young participants, both in-school and out-of-school, learned and discussed key topic such as human trafficking, gender sensitivity and sexuality, disaster risk reduction, and building-backsafer leadership skills. Melboy Rivas Bulan, a 19 year-old biology student of the University of Philippines, said: “we became aware of what the youth can do to actively contribute to increase awareness on human trafficking.” Another participant, Bulan, commented: “I learned the meaning of sex tourism, debt bondage, acts, means and purpose. I can help the advocacy by influencing my fellow youth and by engaging them in activities like this as well.”

On the final day of the youth camp, the participants or ‘Jammers’ pledged to become Anti-Trafficking Ambassadors in their own communities and promote initiatives to end human trafficking and violence.

COMMUNICATIONS WITH COMMUNITIES (CwC)

As part of the CwC activities, community discussions were organized in the new transitional shelter site Cogon in Guiuan on 14 November, participated by 102 residents. One of the topics most discussed was livelihood options. Sikat Foundation, a non-profit organization assisting fisher folks, introduced their livelihood activities in Guiuan and suggested alternative sustainable incomegenerating activities such as seaweed planting, boat renting. “For fishermen’s wives like us it would be nice if they can teach us about basket weaving and dressmaking”, said Genevieve Dowa, one of the participant. Another topic discussed was the provision of electricity in the transitional site. The Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative representative announced that 131 houses would be provided with electricity as soon as pertinent requirements are submitted. Charlie Villacorta, another participant, commented: “I’m glad there’s this kind of activity. It gives us updates and we can discuss our problems and concerns.” In addition to this event, IOM, together with local government units, Oxfam and UN-Habitat conducted a focused group discussion about ongoing challenges for residents of Cogon. The top five challenges raised were waste disposal, livelihood, problems regarding the latrines, water and electricity connection, which IOM and partners are looking to respond to as soon as possible.

ZAMBOANGA On 17 November, representatives of European Commission on Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) visited Zamboanga City to monitor IOM’s activities. These are being funded by ECHO, together with other implementing partners, namely ACF and Plan International. They visited the Grandstand, where most of the displaced families are still residing one year after the conflict, and the Mampang transitional site where the ECHOfunded shelters and facilities are being built. The ECHO-funded shelter and CCCM project aims to improve the living conditions of IDPs in displacement sites, ensure safe, humane and orderly transition to transitional shelters. Go-and-see visit to Mampang transitional site II © IOM 2014

CCCM (Camp Coordination and Camp Management) IOM continues to conduct social preparation activities for IDPs before and after their transfer from evacuation centres to transitional shelters. The activities include beneficiary consultations, focus group discussions and go-and-see visits to transitional shelters. 216 IDP have been facilatated for go-and-see visits to Mampang transitional site II and 1,078 IDP have been facilitated with resettling to Buggoc transitional site. There are still 1,949 families residing inside three evacuation centres, with the largest in the Grandstand sports complex, housing 1,842 families. The high number of people in displacement sites clearly indicates the need for the construction of more transitional and durable shelter solutions.

Shelter

To date, IOM has completed construction of 124 transitional shelters in different sites across Zamboanga, while 44 are currently under construction.

Nurisa’s Story “No matter how big the trials we are experiencing, all we need to do is to rise and move forward,” says Nurisa Halil, an IDP leader of Grandstand Zone C. Nurisa is a mother of three and grandmother of two, who lost her two-story house to the fire of the armed siege but never seems to lose her hope and gratefulness. “We can’t change what happened in the past. But I know that God won’t leave us. That’s why I am very thankful to those who have helped, especially to IOM.” She has recently been selected as one of the beneficiaries of the transitional shelters in Mampang transitory site II that IOM constructed. With her radiating character, she continues to be a responsible IDP leader, she volunteers in every way she can to organize her neighbourhood.

COTABATO

CCCM (Camp Coordination and Camp Management) This month, IOM in Cotabato conducted the following capacity-building activities for partners and stakeholders. A total of 143 participants (70 males, 73 females) attended the trainings across the provinces of Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat provinces. 1.

Incident Command System, Basic Life Support Training and CCCM Orientation provided capacity-building assistance to partners in Lanao del Sur’s local Disaster Risk Reduction Management offices on various aspects of camp management and emergency response preparedness. Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Orientation for Partners provided IOM’s partners with understanding of the DTM as a tool for monitoring and analysing the profile of the displaced population in order to identify the needs and formulate appropriate responses. Psychosocial Support (PSS) Workshop was a three-day workshop that helped in developing session guides in conducting psychosocial support activities in the context of transitional justice. This aims to offer psychosocial support to people affected by the armed conflict. Basic Communication Skills and Key Message Development TrainingWorkshop aimed to assist implementing partners with ideas and strategies on how to enhance public awareness on sexual genderbased violence prevention and promotion of referral pathways.

Support for Peace Process IOM in Cotabato participated in the following events related to support interventions for the peace process in Bangsamoro. 1. Philippines Development Forum on Bangsamoro was organized by the Philippine Department of Finance. The highlight of the event was the presentation of the Bangsamoro Development Plan and Flagship Programmes/Projects. In response to this, IOM is promoting its Community Revitalization Initiative for Bangsamoro (CRIB), which outlines planned support for the Bangsamoro Peace Process in the following key sectors: socio-economic integration and reintegration, health and psychosocial support, transitional justice and humanitarian assistance. 2. Handover and Launch of the Bangsamoro Development Plan (BDP). The Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), the development arm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), launched and handed-over the BDP to the MILF Central Committee. IOM supported the drafting of the BDP, particularly in the cross-cutting issues on gender and youth. The event convened various partners, including donor agencies, international and local NGOs, civil society organizations, media and peace advocates. 3. Launch of the Bangsamoro Conflict Management System Launch. International Alert, an international NGO working to prevent and end violent conflict around the globe, in partnership with the World Bank, has developed the Bangsamoro Conflict Management System, an evidence-based system that aims to monitor incidents of violent conflict and crimes in the Bangsamoro region and surrounding areas in order to inform development planning and policy making.