On December 17, 2021, Typhoon Odette (internationally known as Rai) hit the Palawan mainland and severely damaged houses, crops and infrastructure. Over 350,000 individuals are impacted with their homes destroyed or damaged, their clean water supplies disrupted and livelihood gone, reducing their ability to feed themselves. Palawan is an island paradise that relies heavily on tourism for income generation and has not had a storm this strong hit in recent history. Both Local Governments and the communities were not prepared for a typhoon of this magnitude, but have been able to save lives and are trying to stabilize the situation. However, this storm combined with the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19-related tourism shutdown threatens to move more Palaweños under the poverty threshold, increase rates of malnutrition and impact communities for years to come.

Roots of Health is partnering with a local nonprofit, A Single Drop for Safe Water (ASDSW) to provide relief to the affected areas. ASDSW has been providing humanitarian response services in partnership with Local Government Units and partner communities for more than a decade and are experts in the field of water and sanitation. We will focus on health and data monitoring.

Teams are in the field empowering barangay (village) level governments to do basic needs assessments so that they can represent their communities to get the right assistance. We are also in the process of beginning distributions of water treatment supplies for those drinking from unsafe sources, providing tarpaulins to improve shelter conditions and hoping to distribute cash so that people can purchase their own food and support local community businesses.

Your support will allow us to partner with communities and local governments so they  become proactive participants in their own recovery. This will provide short-term and long-term water, sanitation and hygiene interventions to reduce the impact of water borne diseases, increase short-term food security while also stimulating local markets, and allow people to rebuild their houses stronger. Your contributions will also support other health-related needs, including contraceptive and prenatal services, support for the local barangay health centers, and COVID-19 related response. It will also help local officials increase their skills and capacities in monitoring their communities and communicating their needs.With your support, we will help rebuild communities that will thrive, not just survive.

Thank you for your support.