A Ravaged Island Nation

In December 2021, Super Typhoon Rai (known locally as Odette) caused widespread devastation across the Philippines.

With gusts of up to 240kmph, the storm was equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. Our local partnerships with Rotary, Humanity and Inclusion, and local governments helped us get aid to some of the hardest-to-reach locations such as Dalaguete, southern Cebu.

See how our aid enabled Moises and her family to rebuild and recover.

Dancing in the wind

As most families around the globe prepared for Christmas, communities across the Philippines were preparing their homes for the worst.

Amongst them was Moises, who lives in Southern Cebu with his wife Elizabeth.

Unfortunately, Moises was unaware that Super Typhoon Rai was going to hit his village.

“No, we didn’t know. We didn’t even leave our house right away. By 9pm it became worse, it was like my house was dancing in the wind”.

That’s when Moises knew it was time to evacuate.

“We were very frightened, our house was already shaking. If we stayed there, we could have been crushed by the roof”.

An uninhabitable house

The next morning, Moises discovered that his house had been badly damaged by the typhoon.

The family needed to find a place to sleep until they could make repairs and make their home habitable again.

But, like most people affected by the typhoon, Moises has been unable to buy all the materials to finish his home. He used to fish to earn a living, but he was still unable to three months after the storm hit because of damage to his boat.

Aid when it's needed most

That’s why ShelterBox’s aid packages have been so useful for people like Moises.

With great delight, the family received corrugated iron sheets, tools, and a solar light.

“Without the help, we would not be able to rebuild our house”, Moises concluded.