Philippines - The New Year started on a hopeful note for hundreds of families made homeless by Typhoon Bopha which struck the southern Philippines’ island of Mindanao on 4th December last year.
On the last night of the old year, IOM teams arrived to start a distribution of family kits composed of cooking and kitchen utensils, bedding and flashlights, to 1,160 families in the worst-hit Compostela Valley and Agusan del Sur Provinces.
The families have been identified as the most vulnerable by IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, DTM.
DTM is an Excel and Android-based tool developed by IOM to gather data on the conditions of displacement in evacuation centres to better inform and coordinate humanitarian responses. In the Philippines, the tool was rolled-out at the height of the Typhoon Ketsana response in 2009 and the floods in Central Mindanao in 2010.
“We used the DTM within days of the disaster to survey 38 sites with a population of nearly 10,000 people on a weekly basis. When we prioritized the most vulnerable we found that breastfeeding women, new mothers and large families are at highest risk. They need water, supplementary feeding, better shelter and more latrines,” says Brian Kelly, IOM’s emergencies chief in Asia, speaking after a visit to the affected area.
At least 10,000 people have been displaced to temporary shelters since the disaster struck on 4 December, killing over 1,000 and leaving more than 200,000 houses damaged or destroyed.
After the initial non-food aid distribution has been completed, IOM will start to distribute 6,000 emergency shelter kits which are currently on the way to the Philippines, as well as 16,000 solar lamps which are vital for protection and for such tasks as enabling women to visit latrines at night or allowing children to do their homework.
The lack of sufficient latrines and availability of clean water are a cause of concern for eruption of diseases such as the upper respiratory tract infections, diarrhoea and skin infections, especially as 13 sites surveyed had no or limited health services.
“Mass lifesaving assistance has helped to stabilise populations but now families need individually-tailored durable solutions to recover and rebuild all aspects of their lives” adds Mr Kelly.
The aid has been well received by those affected. Michi Tetalcorin is expecting her first child in a matter of weeks. Her house was flattened by the Typhoon and her partner has lost his job in the local banana plantation. They are sheltering in the local Elementary school in the remote village of San Roque.
“I was very relieved to have received the family kit,” she said.  “So far we have received little relief due to the distance and the difficulty getting here. I am grateful to IOM because now I have something to use for cooking, I have a flashlight and we can now sleep more comfortably with the mats and blankets we were given. Now if only somebody can give us shelter materials so we can rebuild our house and our lives, we will be okay.”
Meanwhile Nonon Leon and his family of six have seen the land on which they used to live classified as a No Build Zone due to the ferocity of the cyclone. Nonon (58) has lost his job as caretaker of a coconut plantation that was wiped off the map by Bopha.
“The (IOM family kits) were the first decent-looking and useful relief assistance we received other than food,” he said. “We don’t get enough relief here because it’s difficult to reach my town. They only make relief distribution six kilometres away in Poblacion and I would have to pay 20 pesos (USD 0.50 cents) just to get there. I have no money. But IOM came and distributed right here in my place. I am very grateful. We only live in a make-shift shelter and these sleeping mats and flashlights are very helpful especially as there is still no electricity.”
For more information, please contact

Brian Kelly
IOM Thailand
Tel: + 6623439300
Email: bkelly@iom.int