Rebuilding Through Relief
November 24, 2013
Super Typhoon Haiyan destroyed local infrastructure on Bantayan Island.
After our staff arrived on the ground in the Philippines, they set about conducting such assessments. Last weekend, our Indonesia country director Jan Daniel journeyed to Bantayan island to conduct assessments. The island had been devastated by the storm. The only power on the island came from generators after the storm toppled power lines and buildings.
When Daniel arrived, he was informed by contacts on the ground that there was no need for water. The government had provided the local water system with a generator to keep water running. Daniel was discouraged and afraid that his trip was pointless, but he decided to continue with his assessment rather than wait in the miles-long line to get back on the ferry.
Our Indonesia Country Director Daniel traveled to the city of Madridejos to assess the need for water.
Daniel journeyed north to the city of Madridejos, with a population of over 39,000 people. Over 90% of the houses had been badly damaged by the storm, and everywhere Daniel looked he could see evidence of its power.
“When we arrived there,” Daniel told us, “we went to the municipal office and we met the mayor. The mayor said the water is not an issue anymore because they were given a generator by the Manila government, but they need diesel fuel to operate it.”
A truck delivers water to the people of Madridejos.
The mayor showed him where people could gather water for free, thanks to a water system that produces water treated with chlorination, but that the town was worried about how they were going to get diesel fuel to continue operating their system.
Daniel was excited to share with the mayor that there was an alternative to solve the problem with the power supply. Through Water Missions International corporate partnerships, we could potentially supply the community with a solar driven pump that would enable their water system to continue to operate without fuel.
People line up to get water after losing their homes to Super Typhoon Haiyan.
Curious to see whether or not a solar driven pump would work, Daniel requested to see their water treatment facility. “I was really surprised at what I saw at their water facility,” Daniel explained. “They only have one borehole and a submersible pump. They have a dosing pump to inject a chlorine solution before the water goes to a large tank. I asked the supervisor how they knew that the water was safe.”
“Since we’ve used chlorine for many years, the water is safe,” the supervisor said.
Daniel tests the local water source to see whether or not the well water is safe to drink.
Daniel began to ask questions about how they tested the water and discovered that they didn’t have a way to test the water they were serving. He explained about residual chlorine, and that, while they treated the water with chlorine, it was possible that they were using either too much or too little.
Daniel offered them advice on how to improve their existing operations. Community leaders were eager to learn how they could work with Water Missions International to improve their water source. Daniel left Bantayan island with plans to return with a erosion chlorinator with the capacity to properly treat the water in Madridejos.
Life resumes for communities across the Philippines in the aftermath of the storm.
As water begins to flow again in communities affected by Haiyan, Water Missions International's experts are working with local municipalities to help restore the infrastructure needed to produce safe water and ultimately fix existing water systems. Because our staff engineer custom solutions every day, they're flexible and able to tackle each community's needs in order to ensure a sustainable solution.
Our staff have continued carrying out assessments, and our first shipments of equipment have arrived in the Philippines. We currently have fourteen safe water solutions in the Tacloban area, and staff on the ground are preparing to provide safe water access to those in need. Our next shipments, containing 49 safe water solutions, will go out soon, enabling our eight man staff to serve even more people.
Water Missions International understands all too well the time rebuilding can take because of our experience with disaster response in Haiti and Indonesia. We know that this is only the start of our work with the people in the Philippines. This weekend our staff will be working to provide safe water access to those in need, and we look forward to sharing their stories with you.
To learn more about our work in the Philippines, go to http://watermissions.org/Haiyan.
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