QUEZON, Philippines, 25 April 2005 – While the world’s attention has been focused on the Indian Ocean tsunami, tens of thousands in the Philippines have been dealing with the aftermath of another natural disaster that has gone largely unnoticed. In December 2004 three typhoons hit the South Eastern province of Quezon, killing more than 2,000 people, destroying homes, schools and injuring thousands more.
Today, as the people of Quezon rebuild their lives, UNICEF is assisting the children, women and men in the devastated areas. Working alongside local agencies such as the Southern Tagalog People Response Centre and the Southern Tagalog Kanlungan Development Centre, UNICEF is providing affected families with food and vitamin packs, as well as tools and materials to help them rebuild their homes.
In the town of Real, a remote community populated mostly by Dumagats, a forest-dwelling indigenous group, over 250 people died and more are still missing. “Our house was swept away – everything, including our clothes and our livelihood,” said Elsa De La Cruz, a Dumagat survivor.
Children were especially hard hit by the typhoons and are still haunted by their experiences. “The morning after, I saw corpses at the town centre. Some had blood on their nostrils, others had bloated stomachs. There were many more dead children wrapped in sacks,” said Josephine, a child survivor.
In response to the psychosocial needs of the affected children, UNICEF provided support to the Southern Tagalog Kanlungan Development Centre. The centre started a psychological rehabilitation programme for children, in which participants (some as young as four years old) could talk about their feelings and express themselves through creative arts.
“After the floods, just a slight noise would scare me to death. When the teachers came, my fear slowly subsided. The activities took my mind away from the tragedy. Now the horror I felt is gone,” said Dumagat participant Beverly Adornado.
While the physical and psychological scars left by the typhoons will remain for some time, the assistance of UNICEF and its local partners is helping the people of Quezon rebuild their lives. –Joseph Fortin and Mario Díaz
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
