After Typhoon Rai swept through the Philippines last December, Brother’s Brother Foundation responded with a grant to provide funding for relief efforts in the area. Making landfall with wind gusts up to 150 mph, the typhoon impacted more than 2.5 million people, leaving over 600,000 people displaced and more than 159,000 houses destroyed.

In partnership with Catholic Relief Services and the Social Action Center of Maasin, BBF provided aid to 1,250 households in Philippine provinces Surigao del Norte and Southern Leyte. Nearly 5,000 Filipinos whose homes were destroyed by the typhoon received shelter repair and tool kits, water storage containers and a one-month supply of Aquatabs used to purify water. During distribution, families were given a demonstration to reinforce messages about proper handwashing, sanitation, and safe water.

The tarps and supplies provided in the repair kits have proven to be essential to many residents. Areynaldo Seraspe, who lives with his wife and three children and grandchildren, used them to prevent rain from entering the makeshift shelter he built with fallen trees and iron sheets. Others used the supplies to begin the slow process of rebuilding. Cleofe Poblete and Arvin Hugar stayed with relatives for over a month before saving enough money to buy wood. The tools, tarps, nails, and ropes they received from BBF’s grant and funding helped put a roof over their heads while they worked to restore their home piece by piece.

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Cleofe Poblete and Arvin Hugar stand in the frame of their destroyed home by Typhoon Rai. The tarp shelter was made possible by BBF and partner organizations. | Photo courtesy of Catholic Relief Services