Oxfam aid continues to reach families affected by Haiyan

Cebu, Philippines, 16 November 2013 – Oxfam continues to reach more people affected by typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines as it delivered emergency relief starting on Friday afternoon (15 November) in the northern tip of Cebu.

Hygiene and water purification kits were given to 600 families yesterday in the coastal region of Daanbantayan which was badly affected by the typhoon. 200 families will receive the same kits today.

The hygiene kits contained essentials such as toothbrushes and paste, blankets, sleeping mats and mosquito nets.

Among the residents receiving the Oxfam kits was Sonia Tidino, 32, with her ten-month-old son. She said that the Oxfam kits will help her family start anew.

“When the storm hit, we went to my aunt’s house which is made of cement but even that was destroyed. There was so much debris flying around especially the roofs that had blown off. We were also scared about the falling coconut trees,” she said.

Another local resident, Annie Postrero Abenasa, 31, who lives who with her husband Christopher Abenasa, and their three children, an eight-month-old boy and two girls, aged two and three, said she is still struggling to understand the enormity of what happened and they desperately need help.

“We are still in shock. I don’t know how to react, how to overcome this kind of damage. On that day, all the rooftops were blown away, all the houses damaged,” she said.

“My roof was blown away. Our kitchen, the floor are destroyed. My children are in shock,” she said.
She said the Oxfam water and hygiene kits would be very useful for her family. “It’s a great help to us because we have nothing. Everything in our house was blown away.”

In the first phase, Oxfam plans to provide vital assistance in the next few weeks to some 20,000 families affected by Typhoon Haiyan. Oxfam is working very closely with partners to deliver water, basic sanitation, tents and tarpaulins for emergency shelter.

Oxfam will also be supporting households to rebuild their farming and fishing livelihoods, at the same time as getting markets up and running so that food is available in local shops.