Bike Scouts Project Brief

PROJECT
BRIEF
2014
The Bike Scouts Project is a volunteer-based “calamity response initiative” that was
organized in the immediate aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda. The typhoon, also known
internationally as Typhoon Haiyan, is widely recognized as the strongest tropical cyclone and
resulted in the devastation of many parts of the Visayan Islands in the Philippines in November
2013. The city of Tacloban in Leyte and the municipality of Guiuan in Samar Province was the
hardest hit. A large section of Tacloban City and nearby coastal towns was engulfed by tsunamilike waves while Guiuan in Samar experienced extremely powerful wind and rain.
Infrastructure, transportation, communications and basic services in many places was completely
wiped-out. With this situation in mind, the Bike Scouts Project was organized as a local effort to
provide a line of communication between survivors of the storm, their relatives, and the aid and
rescue agencies that had the actual capability to provide medical and survival assistance.
The idea behind The Bike Scouts Project focuses on the use of bicycles as a means to
transport information and emergency supplies within the areas affected by the typhoon.
This idea worked very well in the days immediately after the storm because almost all of
the streets in Tacloban City and Guiuan were completely blocked by debris. In addition,
almost all of the motorized vehicles in the vicinity of the affected areas were badly
damaged by the storm surge and fuel supply for their operation was non-existent.
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In the days immediately after the typhoon, volunteer bicycle messengers deployed to
Tacloban City with their bikes to reach some of the most badly-affected areas like the
towns of Palo, Tanauan, and Tolosa where they were able to deliver emergency medical
supplies and food. Volunteers gathered survivor information that was made available
online with the help of Rappler.com and, most importantly, collected and sent out
personal messages from typhoon survivors who desperately needed to let their relatives
and friends know about their situation.
The lack of communications was severe. The typhoon and the storm surge
that accompanied the strong wind and rain had wiped out all the communications
infrastructure, knocked-out electricity, and swept away most of the mobile phones and
other means of communication that could have been a lifeline for the survivors who
needed immediate assistance in terms of food, water, shelter, and medical assistance.
In a span of thirty days, and with the help of generous private sponsors, the Bike Scouts
Project was able to send five separate teams to Leyte and Samar. The teams worked in
collaboration with Rappler.com and other support organizations to identify and access
areas that were in desperate need of assistance. In addition to the core objective of
helping provide an alternative means of communication, Bike Scouts volunteers also
worked to locate specific individuals and families whose names were submitted to
through the Bike Scouts Facebook Page by the concerned relatives of those who were
missing or trapped in isolated places because of the typhoon.
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A special Bike Scouts volunteer team was also organized in Manila to serve the needs of
Tacloban-based students who were airlifted by the Philippine Air Force out of Leyte. The
students were staying in the DIliman campus of the University of the Philippines and they
needed help in resuming their regular studies. Bike Scouts volunteers organized an
initiative to purchase second-hand folding bikes that were given to the Tacloban
students. Within two weeks, Bike Scouts volunteers were able to gather and distribute
forty bicycles to the students who are now using them to get to their classes. The bicycles
allow the students to save their meager allowances for important academic
requirements. The idea is that at the end of the students' stay in Diliman, they will have
the option to bring the bicycles home with them to Tacloban or they can pass it on to
other students who might have a need for bicycle transportation.
Some of the donated folding bicycles awaiting their new owners.
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SAMAR
SAN JOSE
V&G
TACLOBAN CITY
PALO
TANAUAN
PAGNAMITAN
TUBABAO ISLAND
GUIUAN
TOLOSA
CALICOAN
BURAK
LEYTE
SULANGAN
LEYTE GULF
MACARTHUR
HOMONHON ISLAND
*Highlighted areas comprise area of operation between November 19 through December 24, 2013
The area of coverage for the Bike Scouts Project is distributed between five teams that
deployed to Leyte and Samar. The description of their assignments and deployment
details are as follows:
TEAM 1: Deployed to Tacloban City on November 19, 2013 with team members Gio
Paolo Espital, Kawayan Calunsod, Odessa Coral, Pj Soliven, and Albert Eric Bedke. Team 1
served as the “pathfinder team,” helping set up routes and resources for the succeeding
teams that were to deploy to Leyte at a later date. Team 1 covered the immediate areas
around Tacloban City, the town of Palo and Tanauan, they also made initial contact with
the Rappler team that set up their Satellite IP van that was instrumental in posting all of
the information that was gathered by the team.
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Team 1 gathered survivor data from most of the evacuation
centers around Tacloban City, collected and sent out personal messages from survivors,
delivered medical and survival supplies, located a Canadian national (Colin West) in
Tacloban and relayed information to Canadian embassy in Manila.
TEAM 2: Deployed to Tacloban City on November 21, 2013 with team members Myles
Delfin, Nicolo Bruce Munoz, Wena Capule, and Edgar De Jesus. Team 2 served as the
“follow-up team,” extending the reach of the Bike Scouts operation in Leyte to the outer
boundaries of Tacloban City and all the way to the isolated villages of Tolosa and the town
of MacArthur along the coastline of Leyte Province.
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Team 2 gathered survivor data from most of the evacuation
centers around the town of Tolosa, collected and sent out personal messages from
survivors, delivered medical and survival supplies to isolated villages in Tolosa and the
*Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Medical Foundation in Tacloban City, coordinated with
Groupe de Secours Catastrophe Francois for a badly-injured woman in Barangay Burak in
Tolosa, Leyte, facilitated the treatment of a typhoon victim at the Philippine General
Hospital in Manila, coordinated with Community and Family Services International in
Tacloban City to provide additional volunteer services. (*in partnership with Team 1)
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TEAM 3: Deployed to Tacloban City on November 30, 2013 with team members Andy
Leuterio, Zean Villongco, Raul Ona, and Rome Jorge. Team 3 further expanded the
coverage of Bike Scouts in Tacloban City, Leyte and Samar Provinces.
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Team 3 gathered survivor data from most of the evacuation
centers around Leyte Province, collected and sent out personal messages from survivors,
delivered medical and survival supplies in both Leyte and Samar Provinces. Team 3
connected partnered with Dr. Cerilo R. Galindez, Officer-in-Charge of the Eastern Visayas
Regional Medical Center to provide additional volunteer services.
TEAM 4: is the only Bike Scouts volunteer team assigned to Manila, with team members
Yan Yuzon, Fernando Escora, Benjamin Alves, and Nick. The team took it upon
themselves to look after the needs of Tacloban-based students who were airlifted to
Manila. Team 4 organized a drive to raise funds and gather folding bicycles that were
distributed to the Tacloban students. The bicycles are meant to help the students get to
their classes around the UP Diliman Campus without having to spend their precious
allowance on transport fare.
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Team 4 raised funds for forty folding bicycles that were
given to the Tacloban students staying at the Diliman Campus of the University of the
Philippines.
TEAM 5: is a composite team made up of members of Teams 1 and 2 that were
previously deployed to Tacloban City and Leyte Province. Team 5 deployed to Guiuan
in Samar on December 7, 2013 after spending a week in Tacloban to complete a
checklist of assignments around Tolosa and Tanauan. Team 5 was composed of
Kawayan Calunsod, Albert Eric Bedke, Pj Soliven, Myles Delfin, and Ody Lalim.
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Team 5 delivered additional supplies to storm survivors in
Leyte Province before deploying to Samar, coordinated with Community and Family
Services International in Guiuan for additional volunteer services, located the Filipino
family of American national William Talley in Tubabao Island (among others),
delivered supplies to Calicoan Island and Sulangan, surveyed communities and routes
in preparation for road convoy of Bike Scouts Team 6 (food kitchen).
View Team 5 report regarding Guiuan at this link: http://goo.gl/HKLDTG
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TEAM 6: is recognized as the last “Initial Response Deployment” of the Bike Scouts
Project for Typhoon Yolanda. Team 6 is composed of Marie Saballegue, Charley Sta.
Maria, Laila Monera, Odessa Coral, Gio Paolo Espital, Wena Capule, Mark Hilhorst,
Michael Gordovez, Towie Vasquez, and Francis Navarro. The Team 6 deployment to Leyte
and Samar is the biggest deployment of the Bike Scouts Project in terms of scale and
logistics. Team 6 organized a Mobile Food Kitchen that they set-up in different places
around Guiuan, Samar. The food kitchen was organized as a component of a much larger
objective to help the people of Samar regain their footing and confidence as they begin
the long process of rebuilding. In support of this, the team brought construction tools
and materials that they distributed to people whose houses were totally destroyed by
the storm. Team 6 also brought along vegetable seeds and other gardening materials
that were given away to the typhoon survivors in addition to audio-visual equipment for
a film screening that they set-up wherever the mobile kitchen stopped. Team 6 covered
Guiuan, Pagnamitan, Sulangan, Tubabao Island, Comverse, among other places.
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LOGISTICS
The most difficult part of implementing the Bike Scouts Project is the work of
transporting equipment and supplies, the bicycles of the volunteers, their personal
equipment, and the many boxes of medical and food supplies that was needed in the
places wherever the Bike Scouts deployed. Fortunately, the Philippine Air Force was very
helpful and provided space in numerous C130 flights to and from Tacloban City. Most of
the transportation cost that the project incurred was for the rental of private vehicles to
transport equipment and personnel once the roads were cleared. We found that it was
simply necessary and practical to maximize the time we had on deployment, spending
more time on the actual work of volunteer bike messengers rather than on the
transportation of equipment from once place to another. There was also a period of time
in the early days after the typhoon when the C130 flights were fully-booked with
deliveries of aid supplies. At which time, the Bike Scouts had to fly into Tacloban City on
commercial flights that required payment of full airfare and baggage fees.
Access to Guiuan in Samar proved to be the biggest challenge when you have to
transport large volumes of medical and food supplies. In addition, the road between
Tacloban City and Guiuan wasn't cleared until much later and there was a concern about
security. Guiuan itself proved to be a very organized and orderly place, even with the
destruction caused by the typhoon, and there was no problem getting transportation to
Samar and on to Calicoan where the Bike Scouts established a forward supply camp at a
roofless cottage along the beach about four kilometers from Sulangan .
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THE LONG TERM
The Bike Scouts Project is an initiative that is made up of two components. First, is the
Initial Response Deployment (IRD) that is designed to organize volunteer bicycle
messengers into teams that will deploy before or immediately after a natural calamity or
emergency. The purpose of the IDR is to provide a quick and easy way to restore access to
communications for the calamity-affected communities and provide a reliable source of
information and data for the aid and rescue responders who often require a particular
amount of time to deploy to the calamity or disaster areas. Second, is the long-term
component which is the Local Response Team (LRT) where Bike Scouts Volunteer Teams
are established locally, trained and equipped to provide a community-based response to
the threat or effects of a natural calamity or disaster.
The idea to establish the local counterpart of the Bike Scouts Project in isolated and
disaster-prone communities is a necessity. Considering that there is no real way for any
national or international aid or rescue agency to provide a long-term guarantee of
assistance. The best way to lessen the odds of a disaster is to provide the communities
themselves with the tools and the knowledge to help themselves prepare and respond and it all begins with a bicycle.
The idea is to donate bicycles to a community where a team of local bicycle messengers
will be trained in proper bike handling and maintenance. They will be given bicycles,
tools, repair kits, helmets, and spare parts. The plan is to identify qualified volunteers
and train them in every aspect of the work of a volunteer bicycle messenger. The
volunteers should be individuals who are trusted and recognized by the community, they
should be leaders and action-takers who will not forget their responsibility to their
community as a qualified volunteer bike messenger. In times of emergency, they will be
the ones to ride out and seek help or deliver information. On ordinary days, they will help
spread the concept of collaboration and sense of community that is at the core of the
Bike Scouts initiative. They will do this by providing a free service to their community by
helping repair and maintain local bicycles. Volunteers will also be given an annual
program of projects that are designed to create a local sense of ownership and
participation in the Bike Scouts program.
For 2014, the plan is to establish two pilot communities in Samar
located in Sulangan and Comverse in Calicoan. These two
communities are perfect candidates for the Bike Scouts LRT Program
because they are far from the primary sources of aid and are located in
an area that is at the very edge of the Pacific Ocean where almost all
of the powerful typhoons that affect the Philippines originate.
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IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
The long term component of the Bike Scouts Project requires that a team of project
managers and instructors will travel to target-areas in Samar that will serve as pilot
communities. The project managers will be responsible for organizing the partner
communities and gather support for the project among the local leaders and community
members. The instructors will be responsible for providing training in bike handling and
maintenance for candidate volunteers. The estimate for the setting-up of the pilot
community teams in Sulangan and Comverse will initially require five days. The entire
program, from organization, identification, training, to graduation will be completed
within this time frame.
BIKE SCOUTS PILOT
DAY 1: Fly in to Tacloban City, land
DAY 2: Travel to Sulangan and
travel to Guiuan, Samar.
Comverse, Meeting with
community leaders, Identification
COMMUNITIES
of candidates and orientation
DAY 4: Graduation and turn-over
DAY 5: Fly back to Manila, Post-
assessment, Ride training and Bike
of bicycles, Travel to Guiuan and
deployment assessment
Messenger orientation,
Tacloban City
DAY 3: Bike handling test and
Community engagement
There will be a follow-up assessment of the progress of the community volunteers within
three months of graduation that will require a Bike Scouts assessment team to travel to
the pilot communities in Samar. The objective is to check the progress of the local
volunteers, exchange ideas with them, and see what requirements they might have in
order to maintain the service that they provide to their respective communities. An
additional three months will be required to fully gauge the feasibility of a long-term
volunteer team in other communities that need them. Eventually, the plan is to expand
the Bike Scouts Volunteer Team system to other places where it can be helpful.
The initial phase of implementation will require financial support of
sponsors to cover transportation and logistical costs. Donors will also
be required for the bicycles, tools, and other materials.
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