Four months since the deadliest Philippine typhoon, Yolanda Ancheta is rebuilding her life with the help of SOS Malta.
Working as a caregiver on the island, she had been completely unaware her husband was facing the devastation of the storm – known as both Typhoon Yolanda and Typhoon Haiyan – when it struck Southeast Asia in November, killing at least 6,000 people.
When the news reached Malta last year it shook the Filipino community, which scrambled to raise funds to help loved ones back home.
Ms Ancheta packed her bags and left for the Philippines, only to find that her steady financial contribution to the rebuilding of their farm – ravaged by a previous typhoon – had been in vain.
SOS Malta raised more than €35,000 through an emergency appeal and the money was used to purchase solar-powered flashlights, baby milk and medicine, among other things.
On her 55th birthday, Ms Ancheta and her husband were given a new tractor, funded by SOS Malta.
“We lost many things and many friends as a result of the typhoon but, then again, we found new ones,” she said, expressing gratitude and joking that she should consider changing her first name from Yolanda.
SOS Malta’s efforts are being coordinated by Celine Cervi, the wife of EU diplomat Julian Vassallo. A former political director at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, she has been in Manila for more than two years.
A friend of SOS Malta CEO Claudia Taylor-East, Ms Cervi decided to lend the NGO a helping hand when the typhoon hit.
“Much has been said about the Filipino spirit of resilience in the wake of countless natural disasters and, especially, Typhoon Yolanda, but it never fails to surprise the humanitarian worker,” she said.
Tacloban airport was still in shambles, she added. There was no waiting area and the luggage ramp had been blown away.
Yet a team of porters greeted her with a song and applause. On the street, people were busy buying and selling. With very few walls standing, business had to take place outdoors.
Everyone in the area was busy rebuilding houses or huts. They had so much to do that it was difficult to go back to work, even if they were lucky enough to have a job. There is no regular garbage collection and the sanitary conditions were “atrocious”.
SOS Malta’s campaign was supported by two Maltese schools – St Aloysius Primary school and St Catherine’s High School in Pembroke – so during her mission in the Philippines, Ms Cervi visited two schools.
Funds were provided to the Takin public elementary school to buy a generator, a photocopy machine and water pipes.
The school is also being replenished with textbooks. The Burauen Morningside school will rebuild its toilets and a small classroom. It will need a further €15,000 to start rebuilding the other classrooms.
Ms Cervi visited a maternal health clinic in Dulag, a coastal town. The clinic, which is coping with difficulty, is assisting pregnant women and handles an average of three births daily.
SOS Malta will be supporting it with medicine, baby clothes, blankets and hats for the coming months.
Ms Cervi noted that although the weather was dry at the moment, the wet season in June would slow down the rebuilding efforts.
“One worry is that the bodies hastily buried in mass graves will resurface with the torrential rains. It has already happened a few weeks ago.
“No one wants to think of this year’s first typhoon,” she said.
“People just want to stand on their feet again. There is no pride, just humility and gratitude to be alive and that people from the far-away island of Malta have cared enough to help as well.”
Ms Taylor-East said SOS Malta had reached hundreds of people with emergency relief but, four months on, the needs of the affected areas remained enormous.
“Your donations will help Tacloban rise again,” she said.
For more information on how to donate go to www.sosmalta.org/donate_now