Binagol is the chief product made by women in Miriam`s village in the central Philippines. It`s a delicacy local to Leyte. Before Typhoon Haiyan, they would gather at a common space at the edge of their row of houses and take turns making their batches of binagol.

Between the dozen or so mothers present, they had all the tools they needed. Each would individually chop the root crop ingredients on their own, then they would share the equipment for cooking and preparing the delicacy.

In Leyte, binagol is a regular staple at markets, corner stores, canteens, and even transit terminals. Through their communal kitchen, Miriam and the women of her village made enough binagol to drop off at nearby markets, making the mothers a small profit to take home.

On 8 November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan changed everything for them, along with millions of other Filipinos in the Visayas region. Scarcity of food supplies and clean water was the biggest challenge. Many were also forced to abandon their regular work to repair or rebuild their homes.

The communal kitchen run by Miriam and her neighbours seemed doomed. This was especially difficult for Miriam, as her husband`s farmhand income was never enough to support their family even before the typhoon.

As part of ChildFund’s long-term emergency response to support those affected by Haiyan, ChildFund Philippines and our local partners have stepped in to help women like Mirian rebuild their livelihoods so families can get back on their feet.

When ChildFund invested in restoring binagol-makers` livelihoods in Miriam`s village, Miriam felt hope for the first time. She says she was not sure what to expect from the ChildFund staff when they first came. The workshop held right at her village helped her understand that ChildFund was here to help, but she and the other mothers would have to do their share not just to restore their livelihood, but improve it as well.

Miriam received her own complete set of utensils and tools for binagol production. She and her peers could now each make as much binagol as they could manage, and ChildFund even helped them with the ingredients for their first run. Most importantly, ChildFund invested in a critical element in the sustainability of their revived livelihood €“ capital.

Previously, the binagol makers often needed loans to buy their ingredients and would then repay the loans from their profits as they were made. This business model meant Miriam and her peers remained in a cycle of debt, eating into what earnings their business did make. Instead, ChildFund invested in the capital for Miriam to restart her business without digging herself into debt. She and her peers were taught to always put away 10 per cent of their profit into savings, so the start-up capital would keep growing.

Now Miriam and her neighbours individually produce binagol and they no longer labour merely to pay debt. Their new method means the women have been able to multiply their village`s total production and they’ve successfully brokered an agreement with a wholesaler.

“I`m pleased and surprised how much better business is now,” Miriam says. “Life was so difficult after Yolanda (the local name for Haiyan). I was desperate to find a new way to feed my three children. I`m glad I can return to what I`m skilled at, and provide better for my family.”

As part of ChildFund`s long-term recovery strategy, we are also helping to strengthen community-based child protection mechanisms and provide disaster risk management and emergency response training for local communities. In addition, our Child-Centred Spaces continue to operate on weekends to support children affected by the disaster.

Thank you to all of our wonderful supporters, including our Project Humanity partners, who together donated more than $620,000 to support ChildFund`s Haiyan emergency response.

The strongest storm to hit the Philippines since Typhoon Haiyan has swept across the island nation, leaving thousands of homes damaged and at least 10 people dead.

Typhoon Rammasun (known locally as Glenda), a category-three typhoon, entered Philippine waters on the evening of July 14 and made landfall in southeastern Luzon today.

Public Storm Warning Signal 3 (the highest alert level) was raised over communities in the Bicol region and Northern Samar, including Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Camarines Sur, Burias and Ticao Island. Work and school were preemptively cancelled in these locations, and forced evacuations from coastal communities were implemented in anticipation of 1-3 metre storm surge waves.

Assessments of the damage are still being carried out, with power and internet down in some areas. However, ChildFund staff in Manila report that the densely populated capital escaped the worst of it, with less rain and flooding than expected.

ChildFund Philippines’ local partners are positioned to respond to this emergency in Bicol, southern Luzon and Metro Manila. Emergency response teams have readied supplies of food, water, tents and emergency kits.

ChildFund’s work in the Philippines has increasingly focused on disaster preparation to reduce the loss of life and minimise the impact of typhoons and other risk factors. ChildFund’s local partners work with young people and their communities to develop community action plans, which coordinate with government efforts to improve warning systems and evacuation procedures.

ChildFund Australia CEO Nigel Spence says: “This is the first typhoon in about four years to strike this close to the capital, Manila, one of the world`s most densely populated cities. We were extremely concerned for the safety of children and their families. Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in advance of the storm, which undoubtedly helped to save lives. This demonstrates the importance of investing in disaster preparation at the community level, a priority for ChildFund in the Philippines and throughout our region.”