“I HOPE YOU’LL BE BACK HERE TO HELP US” — ROMULO BALAGBIS, 73

His name is Romulo Balagbis, 73 years old, from Barangay Siha, Borongan City, Eastern Samar. This is what he experienced during the typhoon: “I swam from here (pointing at their house) to the Day Care Center which is around 150 meters, for safety but the water rises so fast so I decided together with my …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/i-hope-youll-be-back-here-to-help-us-romulo-balagbis-73/

TYPHOON RUBY SURVIVORS CRY OUT FOR HELP

Our partners from PeaceChurch Philippines sent volunteers to join our teams serving Typhoon Yolanda (international name Typhoon Haiyan) and Typhoon Ruby survivors. They interviewed several Typhoon Ruby survivors in the Municipality of Taft in Eastern Samar, an area struck heavily by Ruby (international name Typhoon Hagupit.) The typhoon destroyed the crops and livelihoods of thousands of people across the Visayan islands, and these people now desperately …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/typhoon-ruby-survivors-cry-out-for-help/

NANAY LITA AND MANY MORE HAGUPIT SURVIVORS NEED YOUR HELP

Nanay Lita lives in Barangay Siha, Municipality of Borongan, Eastern Samar. As Typhoon Ruby was raging, and her home was beginning to flood, she placed her 2-month-old baby inside a washing machine, hoping the washer would serve as a makeshift boat. Thankfully, she and her baby survived. But their house and coconut/rice farm (their main source of livelihood) was in a …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/nanay-lita-and-many-more-hagupit-survivors-need-your-help/

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR HAGUPIT RELIEF !

In partnership with PCEC, Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Church Canada, we are currently organizing these 2 projects: :: Relief goods distribution (clothes, cooking supplies) :: Soup kitchen We are looking for volunteers, willing to serve with us from 2 weeks to 3 months. You will need to bring your own gear: camera, mobile phone, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/we-need-volunteers-for-hagupit-relief/

IN WAKE OF HAGUPIT MANY FAMILIES LACK FOOD, WATER

As a result of Typhoon Hagupit’s destruction of homes and infrastructure in the Visayan Islands, many families are currently in dire need of immediate relief. Three of PeaceBuilders’ senior staff — Joji Felicitas Bautista Pantoja (Admin/Finance), Kriz Cruzado (FieldOps), and Bennette Grace Tenecio Mañulit (SupportOps) — are currently assessing the damage and coordinating relief efforts including nutritional …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/in-wake-of-hagupit-many-families-lack-food-water/

OPERATIONS CHANGE TONE AS STORM RECEDES

Typhoon Hagupit has all but left the country into the South China Sea, as of Tuesday, December 9th. The storm hit Manila, but by that time had slowed to winds of less than 100 Km/h and rains had receded from their torrential caliber. Downgraded again from a tropical storm to a tropical “depression”, the destruction …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/operations-change-tone-as-storm-recedes/

AS HAGUPIT APPROACHES MANILA, THE VISAYAS PICK UP THE PIECES

On Monday, 08 December 2014, Typhoon Hagupit was downgraded to a tropical storm but remained formidable and perilous as it approached the densely populated region in and around the Philippine capital of Manila. The Philippine Red Cross reported that 21 people had been killed in the eastern Visayan island of Samar where Hagupit first made …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/as-hagupit-approaches-manila-the-visayas-pick-up-the-pieces/

SUPPORT AND FIELD OPERATIONS INTENSIFY AS HAGUPIT RAGES

After making landfall in Dolores, Samar on Saturday night, Typhoon Hagupit has hit several more towns in the Samar region. It is expected to move through the central islands before touching the greater Manila area and exiting westward on Wednesday. Although no longer super-typhoon status, affected areas are seeing intense rain, flooding, landslides, and storm …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/support-and-field-operations-intensify-as-hagupit-rages/

PBCI CONSULTANT KRIZ CRUZADO GUIDES PAR ORGANIZERS AS HAGUPIT MADE LANDFALL

Typhoon “Ruby Hagupit” has been maintaining its course towards the Philippines, and has now made landfall in Dolores, Leyte at 2115PHT Saturday. Hagupit has maximum sustained winds of 175 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 210 kph; it is forecast to move west at 16 kph. An estimated one million people have …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/pbci-consultant-kriz-cruzado-guides-par-organizers-as-hagupit-made-landfall/

PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE FOR DATU HUSSAYIN AND THE BAJAU PEOPLE

The Mindanao Solidarity Conference on the Bangsamoro in Davao on December 4th brought together leaders from a number of civil society organizations involved in the ongoing peace process. Representatives of the tri-people of Mindanao – Migrants, Lumads and Moros – came for the two day conference to listen and connect with other people of interest …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/past-present-and-future-for-datu-hussayin-and-the-bajau-people/

OUR COMMUNITY DECLARES ‘RED ALERT’ AS HAGUPIT LASHES AT EASTERN VISAYAS

Introducing “Ruby Hagupit” Typhoon Ruby, now internationally known as Typhoon Hagupit (Tagalog, “lash”), is expected to make landfall on Saturday evening. Forecasts and trajectory reports indicate confusion and disagreements between different weather agencies. European predictions suggest a direct hit on the country, starting in Leyte or Eastern Samar and making its way northwesterly through the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/pbci-declares-red-alert-as-super-typhoon-hagupit-at-eastern-visayas/

WHY WE SUPPORT THE BANGSAMORO BASIC LAW

Bangsamoro is the name which the thirteen Muslim tribes of the southern Philippines use to refer to themselves collectively. Bangsa is a Malay word meaning nation. Moro is the name which the Spanish colonizers used to denote the Islamized peoples of the Philippine islands, and is derived from the Spanish name for the Muslim Moors …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2014/12/why-we-support-the-bangsamoro-basic-law-2/

OUR GLOBAL PEACE COMMUNITY

We are sent by Mennonite Church Canada Witness in partnership with our international community.