Winds up to 270km / hour cause a lot of damage!
Homes ruined – 670,000 people displaced or homeless!
The gorgeous unspoilt beaches of the Visayas islands.
Were you witness to Typhoon Haiyan?
“I was camping in central Vietnam when Haiyan hit. I was lucky it changed course from its original predicted route as it passed over the Philippines; if it hadn’t, it would have raged straight over me. When I got back to Hoi An the day after it was supposed to land there, everywhere was closed; signs had been taken down and roped up, cash machines shrink-wrapped and sealed (I’m assuming in case of looting had it hit); sandbags on roofs etc. The whole town was officially closed that afternoon as apparently, the power in the whole of central Vietnam was going to be cut. But, of course, Typhoon Haiyan never actually got to us. All power stayed on, and the locals just accepted it as an unexpected holiday. Seeing all the debris sweeping in from the Philippines that day really did hit home, though. Not long after that, I left for Indonesia – but on the 10th December, I changed my plans and headed off to do a volunteer work in Malapascua to work with the Rebuild Malapascua Organisation.” Joe Astell (Backpacker, UK) “In October 2012, I was witness to how a typhoon can slam into the coast, create giant waves and carry off a person like a plastic bag into the wind in just a matter of seconds. Typhoon Santi arrived to wreak havoc in Aurora while I was living at a beach front surf resort. We had to be rescued out of there. Typhoon Santi had but a fraction of the power of Haiyan. Super Typhoon Haiyan (known as Yolanda in the Philippines) had one of the highest wind speeds ever recorded in a storm in world history. It was also the fourth typhoon to hit the country this year. At the time of writing (November 14th, 2013, 6am), Haiyan has left more than 2,357 dead, 3,853 injured, 77 missing with a total of 359,574 persons in 1,099 evacuation centers. If you’re reading this right now, you must be feeling as helpless as I am. Thousands more are starving and there have been reports of looting and crime. It’s taking time for aid to arrive and the victims have no other choice but to try and survive – any way they can.” Lois Yasay (Travel Blogger, Philippines)The incredibly friendly people of the Philippines is a major draw for backpackers!
How Can You Help?
On her website, We Are Sole Sisters, Filipino native (originally from Davao, Mindanao) Lois Yasay names five ways in which we can help Philippines and alleviate the people’s suffering in the aftermath of one of South East Asia’s worst natural disasters. You can read more about how you can help with worthwhile organisations on the Sole Sisters Website. DONATE: VOLUNTEER:- The Cebu Provincial Government – Facebook Page
- Tindog Tacloban – Facebook Page
- Rebuild Malapascua – Volunteering Organisation
- Help Malapascua – Facebook Page
- World Vision Organisation – General Volunteering Information
- Check out our Philippines Destination Pages for more information about visiting the country.
Article by Karen Farini, Photography by Ephraim Arriesgado of Selfless Travels
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Yes! will be spending 3 months there in Mid February.
Here you can find more info on my blog.
SO PLEASE get in touch with me if you are doing the same
Sam
I was able to volunteer with MSY Foundation to provide home building materials to the typhoon victims of Curva, Northern Cebu Island. Here’s a link of the a video from the day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=511u-WcDR8M
Unfortunately I had a bunch of time off coming up and now it’s too late.
Hi Liz Mehltretter, why not try some of the other organizations listed in the article? Perhaps they were having difficulty dealing with admin and emails at such a busy time? Best of luck!
I’m a nurse and I applied to volunteer back in November. I got a call back to verify my info and never heard from them again. 🙁