* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
When disasters hit, they always hit the most vulnerable the hardest. So when tropical storm Washi (local name: Sendong) hit Mindanao and Negros Oriental, in the South of the Philippines in the weekend of the 16th of December, the children in these areas suffered the most. And they still do.
Many children have lost their lives and many have lost their parents, siblings and extended families. They have lost their homes and have seen things that no child should have to see.
And if that was not enough, they have also lost one of the places where children should feel safe and nurtured: their schools.
With hundreds of thousands of people in the affected areas having lost their homes, local authorities have turned to venues that can hold a large number of people to provide shelter, food, and water. As in the case of past disasters, schools are converted into evacuation centres. In Iligan alone, government facilities including schools and gymnasiums are home to some 57,000 people. In Cagayan de Oro City, public schools that have not been damaged were converted into evacuation centres housing thousands of families.
Already it is clear that many people will not be able to return to the area they were living in: they have been deemed too dangerous. That means that thousands of people will have to move to higher grounds. Many of these people are fisher folks who lived on the river banks. Moving them to higher grounds may be difficult unless the local government can provide them with an alternative source of livelihood. Gen. Benito Ramos of the Office of the Civil Defense has been quoted as saying that it may take up to six months to build shelters for the displaced families. Identifying a relocation site further compounds the problem. The evacuation centres are full to the brim. So full in fact, that many people are camping outside them, or under flyovers, or any place that provides them some kind of shelter at night. This is why Plan International has not only provided jerry cans and water purification, but emergency shelter materials as well.
Meanwhile the UN coordinates the effort that UN and other humanitarian partners (such as Plan International) make, to avoid duplication and to make sure everyone in need is being served. But when they presented the Emergency Review of the Humanitarian Action Plan (also known as a flash appeal), it was quite disappointing to see how little was being requested to get the education system up and running again. The total amount requested is US$354,000, which is only a very, very small portion of the total of US$28.6 million requested.
While it is understandable that millions of dollars should go to relief efforts to keep people alive and healthy, Plan argues that the amount being requested for education is too little. This is why:
With the requested US$354,000, the UN (together with partners) wants to achieve the following;
- Facilitate continued access of at least half of the estimated 34,383 school-aged children to safe and secure learning environment in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.
- Provide psycho-social support for severely affected school children in target communities.
- Provide emergency education supplies to replace damaged or lost learning materials and supplies for target affected children, preferably prior to the resumption of classes in early January 2012
(Note: Based on the estimated caseload of 471,000 displaced people, this can translate to about 137,532 affected pre-school and school aged children. Of this figure, we will prioritize about 25% or roughly 34,383 children for education in emergency intervention). [i]
One can imagine that in order for children to go back to school, the schools need to be cleaned up, other venues need to be found for the displaced people, learning materials need to be replaced and teachers will need to be supported. Many teachers have died in the floods, so there needs to be an influx of new teachers or at least teaching assistants so that the remaining teachers can cope with the high number of pupils.
It is a known fact that it is crucial for children in emergency situations to be back in a school environment as soon as possible. It reunites them with their peers, helps them gain a sense of normalcy and makes it easier to observe them for signs of distress or illness. Having the children in schools also means that they can receive the proper nutrition and clean water.
Plan International in the Philippines is lobbying for a greater investment in Education, and is also lobbying for an investment not only in Mindanao (although it is true that Iligan City and Cagayan De Oro in Mindanao are the hardest hit areas), but also in Negros Oriental, where many people have lost their lives as well and school buildings have been damaged and are being used as evacuation centres.
Therefore Plan in the Philippines is raising funds to make sure that not just half of the school aged children will be reached, but ALL affected children will be supported. This means that 100% of the children who need it will receive education in emergency interventions. Because every child counts……
