Overseas Development Newsletter #11

In this edition:
Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)
Sacred Heart Conference, Nanthencode
NODC Meeting in October
Quarterly Statistics for Q3 & Q4, 13
Issue 11, December 2013
Welcome to the last Issue of the Overseas Development Newsletter for the
year. On behalf of the NODC, we hope that each of you and your families
have a very Merry Christmas and Blessed
New Year.
We will begin this Newsletter with a report from the
National Council of the Philippines regarding
Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) that hit in early
November following an Earthquake in mid-October.
Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)
Disaster Relief Fund Report
As of November 22, 2013
Even if warnings were posted by our weather bureau that
there is an expected Typhoon with signal #4 approaching
the country, preparations done were not substantial. We are a country beset regularly with
typhoons and a signal higher than the usual signal #3 which we normally experienced may just be
simply that, a bit stronger than the usual.
The local government units evacuated some of the families in the coastal towns and low lying
areas; people made their roofs stronger, packed extra food for safety, and did just a simple wait for
another storm to come. The word STORM SURGE was alien to us because it has never been
encountered and has not been explained as may be life threatening.
So when the typhoon struck, people were caught unaware. Communication was cut off from the
affected areas. We only woke up one day to realize the extent of the typhoon’s damage to life and
property.
Immediately the National Council of Society of St. Vincent de Paul contacted our Regional Coordinators and Council Presidents to assess the situation. The board met and immediately ordered the
sending of funds to the Archdiocesan Council of Cebu and the Archdiocesan Council of Iloilo for
the preparation of relief goods for the victims. Our regional coordinator for heavily damaged Leyte
could not be contacted nor our SSVP members in the area.
National Council Office
St Vincent de Paul Society Australia
PO Box 243, Deakin West, ACT 2600.
1/6
Ph: 02 6202 1200 Fax: 02 6285 0159
www.vinnies.org.au
Typhoon Yolanda Report cont’d...
We therefore mobilized the 2 big Councils of Cebu and Iloilo to respond to the situation.
Our different council presidents started calling the national office to report the situation in
their area. The Board decided to concentrate the funds we immediately received from CGI
and Australia to the following heavily devastated areas not in the limelight of the media but
equally needing attention.
Cebu Bogo, Daangbantayan, Bantayan Island
Iloilo Estancia, San Dionisio, Concepcion, Carles
LeyteOrmoc, Palompon, Matag-ob
SamarCalbayog
Roxas City- Roxas City
AntiqueBarbasa, Tibao, Culasi, Sebaste, Valderama, San Remegio
Bohol Danao
AklanNew Washington
RELIEF GOODS
Acquisition: Goods were bought in the markets of Cebu and Iloilo as there were not much
in the areas of Leyte due to the looting which happened and the scarcity of supplies.
Packaging:
A.) composed of rice, mongo seeds, dried fish, sugar, coffee and salt (for Cebu
coastal areas since most do not eat noodles and sardines)
B.) composed of rice, noodles and various canned goods plus blanket (for Iloilo
areas)
Usually packages are good for 2 days meal for a family of 4 as immediate assistance to
families.
Areas: Packaging centers such as our Daughters of Charity operated schools and parish
grounds.
Packers: SSVP members and volunteers, teachers and school personnel
Distribution: From the port of Cebu the goods were shipped accompanied by SSVP
members and distributed to the identified areas. Sometimes CLAIM STUBS were issued
to ensure orderly distribution to affected families.
2/6
Manner of distribution varied depending on the area using:
A.)Hired trucks or vans
B.)“Habal habal” local transportation or tricycles
C.)Banca or fishing boats
D.)By foot; our SSVP young members trekked to the affected areas with the relief
goods in their back packs to be discreet as people swarm to those bringing
relief goods and distribution may become chaotic due to limited supply and
people were literally hungry.
DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED
A.) It took quite some time for the delivery of the goods by land because they have to make
several stops to clear the road from debris of fallen trees or even dead bodies.
B.) Vans or the local means of transportation has become expensive due to the increase in
cost of gas or fuel.
C.) Distribution of goods to families who line up and wait for hours are never enough.
It always breaks the hearts of our members when they cannot serve all those begging for
food for survival since we were among the first to reach their areas.
D.) Most of the distributions done were direct to the areas where survivors are staying even
In patched up houses. The evacuation centers are already taken care of by government
aid and by non-government organization (NGO’s) hence our supplies were also limited.
E.) Distribution has to be done quickly because by 5:00 pm it starts to be dark and there is
no electricity in the area. At times they had to use flashlight to finish the distribution.
F.) Preparations of written reports usually is delayed due to limited time of volunteers since
the work extended by members are done during days when some of our employed members have to be absent from work or be on leave and they have to catch up with school or
office work.
G.)A little delay was experienced when the funds do not reach the councils since there was
no Central bank clearing due to the breakdown of internet connections.
H.)Most of the cell sites broke down. No signal so communication was very difficult.
INITIATIVES BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL
A.) In coordination with the VINCENTIAN FAMILY COORDINATING COUNCIL (VFCC),
which includes the Daughters of Charity (DC), the Congregation of the Mission (CM) and
lay groups of similar Vincentian mission, SSVP took the lead in the distribution of relief
goods gathered from donations solicited by various areas of VFCC. Adamson University
was the drop off and packing center and has been in charge of shipping this to Cebu, San
Roque Parish where our SSVP council can take off for distribution to affected areas in
Cebu and Leyte.
3/6
Typhoon Yolanda Report cont’d...
B.) Through our SSVP website we have appealed for donation
C.) From our family, relatives and friends and areas within our influences, we sought donations in cash and in kind. We made ourselves available for others to network.
D.) We were tapped by other international NGO’s for possible partnership for medium to
long term assistance for Typhoon victims.
E.) Co-sponsored volunteers training session on debriefing and attending to psycho social
intervention of victims specially children.
More than the simple act of distributing goods our SSVP members went to the disaster
area bringing with them compassion, empathy and understanding. They tried to be available to listen to the hurts, complaints and hopelessness at times from the victims who may
have lost all their possession they have and at times even the people they love. This is a
test of their faith.
The world’s attention focused on the Philippines. We were in news worldwide and our story
and the stories of families interviewed by the press have pricked the heart of every human
being who has seen and listened to the reports. You cannot fathom the destruction that
has brought havoc to our land practically putting all areas or the whole town flat to the
grounds.
Out of our natural reaction or compassion to a fellow human being, everyone extended a
hand in whatever way we can to ease the suffering of the victims. We have felt the love
and care of people of the world. People who have recognized our limited capacity and resources to respond to a calamity has brought volunteers from around the world in various
areas of rescue, health, retrieval and disposal of dead bodies, transport (air, sea and land)
for the distribution of food packs for survival.
With the surge of relief goods, our typhoon victims have appealed now for reconstruction of
their dwellings. This time we want to focus on assisting identified families in the repair, reconstruction of their semi-permanent houses on the land they own. We hope to provide
them with construction materials for their roofing, posts and carpentry. We would like to
budget a total of P 40,000 – P 50,000 per house for 30 families per area for 10 identified
adopted areas or a total of P 15,000,000.00
We shall move per area based on the inflow of funds support. We also want to assist them
in their livelihood based on the needs analysis we can gather from our people on the
ground. For example, fishing boats for fishing community; seedlings and fertilizers for farming community; variety store or “sari-sari” store or hog raising for others.
A detailed plan will be presented to you on the livelihood aspect. Our main focus now will
be on the reconstruction of their shelter which we hope you can assist us soonest. Thank
you once again for all your help.
Mayleen “PMay” A. Bernardino
National President
4/6
Sacred Heart Conference, Nanthencode
EK T A (Empowering Kerala Through Activities)
Five members of EKTA team led by its
President Miss. Gopika, Miss. Malavika, Miss
Aswathy, Master Pran & Master Sreejith
co-ordinated the function in S H Jothi Centre
Kumarapuram, Tvm -11. The function was
arranged on 23th June, 2013 4PM by St.
Vincent De Paul Society, Sacred Heart
Conference, Nanthencode, Trivandrum-695003
for providing relief materials to 30 blood cancer
effected children in this institution. Food materials
worth Rs 500/- was provided to each child and
spent nearly 2 hours with the inmates of S H
Jothi Centre, Kumarapuram. This Youth college Group (EKTA) is very much interested in
co-ordinating the activities with Sacred Heart
Conference, Nanthencode.
St Vincent De Paul Society Sacred Heart
Conference Nanthencode organized General
Medical camp for the welfare of the economically
weaker sections in Cheruvaickal near
Sreekariyam, Trivandrum. The function was
inaugurated by Fr. Anish S .J. of Loyola College
of Social Sciences on 7 -7-2013 at 10 AM .
118 patients were given free blood sugar / BP
test with the help of Students of Loyola College of Social Sciences Sreekariyam. The
camp was based on Cardiology, General medicine, ENT, Diabetics, Dietician, &
Dermatology. The needy patients were given medicines as per the prescription of the
doctors. The Camp was conducted under the medical supervision of Dr. Sanoj of Nims
Hospital and Dr Sreejith of IMA. The Medical camp was organized by Sr. Sunitha, HAC
Nanthencode, Bro. Rollin Fernandez, Tvm Area Council President, Bro Pious Conference
President and other members Sacred Heart Conference Nanthencode. The Medical camp
came to an end by 2PM.
Dr. Sanoj of Nims Hospital examining a patient
5/6
Points from the NODC Meeting 18 October 2013

One of the main objectives of this NODC Meeting was to go through the NODC
Policies and Procedures thoroughly and make any updates necessary. Everyone should now have an updated copy, however, if you do not have one and
would like one please talk to your State’s OPDC Administrator.

Pakistan - funds are now flowing well through Pakistan and we are beginning to
receive good reports from the National Council of Pakistan.

PANASCO 8 - NODC has been asked to present a Presentation at PANASCO 8
in October next year. Brainstorming with begin at the first meeting in March. One
of the main topics will be that of Communication between Twins.

Visits - Tony Muir and John O’Brien attended the end of year meeting in Fiji to
lend support and make sure that the new National Council is running well.

Role Descriptions –Role Descriptions were implemented at this meeting. RDs
for State OPDC Chairperson, State Twinning Coordinator, State Project Coordinator and State AAS Coordinator have been finalised, approved by National
Council and sent out to the States. These are National documents.

Workshops and next meeting :

Friday, 28 Feb 2014 NODC Brainstorming for PANASCO,

Saturday, 1 Mar for State OPDC Chairpersons,

Sunday 2 Mar for State Twinning Coordinators

Monday 3 Mar (1/2 day mtg) for NODC
Christmas Greetings from Cambodia
6/6
Quarter 3, 2013 Figures
Students
Sponsored
Country
Twinning
Transfer
Grants
Projects
Bangladesh
-
$4,320.00
$3,570.00
-
Cambodia
-
$1,840.00
$700.00
$7,417.00
374
$114,640.00
$38,620.00
$17,779.00
Indonesia
-
$22,960.00
$5,480.00
-
Kiribati
-
$80.00
$80.00
-
Myanmar
-
$5,760.00
$1,000.00
$18,000.00
Pakistan
-
$160.00
-
-
Philippines
-
$21,360.00
$4,570.00
$4,563.00
PNG
-
$1,440.00
$1,700.00
$4,700.00
Fiji
-
$1,920.00
$200.00
-
Solomon Isl.
-
$80.00
-
$884.00
India
Sri Lanka
322
$320.00
-
-
Thailand
-
$10,720.00
$8,150.00
-
Vanuatu
75
$720.00
$480.00
-
Jerusalem
-
$7,500.00
-
-
ECI
-
$80.00
-
-
771
$193,900.00
$64,550.00
$53,343.00
State
Students
Sponsored
Twinning
Transfer
Grants
Projects
Canberra
Goulburn
-
TOTAL
NT
62
$7,920.00
$1,500.00
-
$800.00
-
-
NSW
153
$74,480.00
$22,850.00
$8,052.00
QLD
287
$31,840.00
$37,230.00
$12,938.00
SA
112
$11,360.00
$1,770.00
-
TAS
69
$2,800.00
-
-
VIC
81
$45,680.00
$1,000.00
$23,957.00
WA
7
$9,680.00
$200.00
$8,396.00
National
Council
-
$9,340.00
-
-
TOTAL
771
$193,900.00
7/6
$64,550.00
$53,343.00
Quarter 4, 2013 Figures
Students
Sponsored
Country
Bangladesh
Twinning
Transfer
Grants
Projects
-
$4,320.00
$600.00
-
240
$1,840.00
$400.00
$1,432.00
26
$113,920.00
$32,025.00
$2,503.00
651
$22,880.00
$6,550.00
-
Kiribati
-
$80.00
-
-
Myanmar
-
$5,760.00
$3,850.00
$4,000.00
Pakistan
-
$160.00
-
-
295
$21,440.00
$6,935.00
$5,000.00
-
$1,440.00
-
$4,700.00
28
$1,920.00
$2,200.00
-
Solomon Isl.
-
$80.00
$200.00
-
Sri Lanka
-
$320.00
-
-
Thailand
-
$10,720.00
$1,900.00
-
Vanuatu
-
$720.00
-
-
Jerusalem
-
$7,500.00
-
-
ECI
-
$80.00
-
-
1240
$193,180.00
$54,660.00
$17,635.00
Grants
Projects
Cambodia
India
Indonesia
Philippines
PNG
Fiji
TOTAL
State
Students
Sponsored
Canberra
Goulburn
-
$7,920.00
$200.00
-
NT
62
$800.00
-
-
NSW
92
$74,240.00
$14,050.00
-
QLD
-
$31,280.00
$800.00
$7,800.00
SA
21
$11,360.00
$540.00
-
TAS
14
$2,800.00
-
-
VIC
843
$45,920.00
$30,250.00
$9,715.00
WA
208
$9,520.00
$8,820.00
$120.00
-
$9,340.00
-
-
National
Council
TOTAL
Twinning
Transfer
1240
$193,180.00
8/6
$54,660.00
$17,635.00