Discovering the power of play

It took Typhoon Haiyan just a few hours to wash away schools and books. Yet, teachers and daycare workers in Eastern Samar, Philippines, are helping children reclaim their right to education in a crafty kind of way...

“Friendly House” in Llorente, Eastern Samar, is a hive of activity. Banana leaf snakes, brightly coloured skittles made from plastic bottles and pretty paper flowers are strewn across the table as an excited group of locals put the finishing touches on their cool creations.

Læs mere her!

Plan and Clowns Without Borders show the power of laughter on Network Ten's The Project

Did you catch us on Network Ten's The Project on Friday night? As part of our recovery work following the devastating Typhoon Haiyan Plan is working with Clowns Without Borders to entertain affected children and bring a little light to their lives. Plan Australia CEO Ian Wishart and professional clown Briar Seyb-Hayden explained that entertaining children goes further than a few giggles – it speeds up the healing process. 

“One man said, this is exactly what we needed – it’s brought hope back into the community. You can see that the children are healing,” said Ian Wishart to The Project’s panel.

Læs mere her!

Clowns Deliver Smiles and Laughter to Areas Hit by Typhoon

With the support of Plan International, Clowns Without Borders (CWB), an organization that uses humor as a means of providing psychosocial support to communities, has been providing smiles to the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines.

The community, which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan six months ago in November 2013, is in need of laughter.

“During the Clowns Without Borders show, the clowns help children shift their attention from worries and fears and bring them back to moments of laughter and joy,” said Roy Tjan, Plan's Child Protection in Emergencies adviser. “Important messages about protection from violence and abuse, about friendship and health and hygiene can be integrated in funny sketches that are both attractive and entertaining for children. The shows enable children to be [children] again, be playful and relax for a while. This is vital for their well-being and it greatly contributes to children´s resilience after a disaster.”
Læs mere her!

Typhoon Haiyan - six months on, we are rebuilding the Philippines together

Regino’s story

When Typhoon Haiyan hit Regino’s village, he clung to the rooftop of his house crying for help with his parents and six other brothers and sisters. Luckily, they all survived. But his house did not.

“During that night, we left most of our things behind,” says the twelve-year-old. "We grabbed the clothes we saw, but left most behind. I also had to leave most of my toys, my school bag and books. I brought with me a t-shirt, a pair of shorts, and my yo-yo.”
In his village, 318 houses were destroyed.

Plan is helping Regino’s community get back on its feet by assisting with the reconstruction of his school and cash-for-work schemes. 

Læs mere her!

Unconditional Cash Grants: Helping Communities in the Philippines Rebuild After Typhoon Haiyan

Individuals in the Philippines are being helped back on their feet by Plan International.

 

Six months after a deadly typhoon brought devastation and destruction to villages throughout the Philippines, community members are rebuilding – and they’re enlisting the help of Plan International.

Unconditional cash grants are one component of Plan’s broader program to provide support for immediate food security and livelihood for communities affected by Typhoon Haiyan.
Læs mere her!

Child Protection and Development Remain Urgent Priorities Following Typhoon Haiyan

Recovery Work Continues as 2014 Cyclone Season Looms.

 

MANILA - Six months after the largest storm to ever make landfall hit the Philippines, child protection and basic development needs remain urgent priorities for millions of children and families, according to the humanitarian organization Plan International. Plan - one of the leading agencies providing relief in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan - is emphasizing that the crucial work to rebuild communities and ensuring child protection continues, particularly as the 2014 Pacific cyclone season gets underway.
Læs mere her!

Plan International Helps Children Affected by Typhoon Haiyan Return to School

Back to School kits provided by Plan are helping children as they transition back to the classroom.

 

Since Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in November 2013, Plan International has been working with communities to send children back to school – but given the devastation, progress hasn’t been easy.

“This is where I used to sit in class,” said 13-year-old Eula as she pointed to a spot on the exposed concrete floor where her classroom once stood. The roof and walls are nowhere to be seen, having been destroyed by the force of the typhoon.
Læs mere her!

Thank you for all your donations, with your help we have been able to supply life-saving aid to the people of the Philippines Thanks to your generosity Plan International has been able to:

• Help over 190,000 children resume their education with back-to-school kits.
• Give nearly 23,000 families received shelter kits for rebuilding homes
• Assist 1,500,000 people who benefitted from food distribution.

From Twigs to brooms, six months after Typhoon Haiyan

There is a saying in the Philippines that one coconut tree twig will achieve nothing but together they become a strong broom.  In the six months since Typhoon Haiyan devastated the lives of more than 14 million people living in the Philippines a massive joint agency support effort continues the mammoth task to restore and rebuild the lives of the people affected by the storm.

Læs mere her!

Behind the Smile: a clown’s experience after Haiyan

It has been more than 100 days since Typhoon Haiyan. The entire world rushed to help the Philippines with humanitarian relief in the form of food, water and shelter... But another team with a very different kind of help arrived: they brought smiles with them.

When Michael O’Neil from Clowns Without Borders arrived the massive destruction overwhelmed him and his other 3 fellow clowns.

Michael is a teacher, director and performer with a BA from Castleton State College; he is a graduate of the most famous Ringling Bros.; and has a Masters in Fine Arts in Directing from the University of Portland.
 
Læs mere her!

Plan International's Big Blue Bags Deliver Hope to Children Affected by Haiyan

“Angel is a special girl,” says her carer Corazon Barrel, as she waits to collect the small girl in a pretty pale blue dress from the Plan-supported daycare session in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

Today’s session is taking place in a tiny concrete room. Typhoon Haiyan, the largest storm ever to make landfall, destroyed the adjacent daycare center that sits on the coastline. With windows blown out by the sheer force of the storm, the center is filled with debris. All learning materials were destroyed as well.

In the corner of the concrete room sits one of Plan’s “Big Blue Bags,” filled with toys made from indigenous and recycled materials. The resources were made by the teacher, who attended a Plan workshop on indigenous toy-making just last year. Thanks to these toys and learning materials, the sessions are helping to restore a sense of normalcy for children like Angel.

Læs mere her!