Mobile teams to aid typhoon victims

Wednesday 8th February 2012

Handicap International is to set up mobile teams in the Philippines to supply aid in the aftermath of Typhoon Washi.

The tropical storm, which brought 10 hours of torrential rain that triggered flash flooding over Mindanao, in the south of the Philippines, affected the lives of 1.1 million people last December.

Almost a thousand people were killed and according to the United Nations, more than 50,000 houses were damaged.

Now teams from Handicap International are to travel to Cagayan de Oro to give help to vulnerable individuals, including people with disabilities and residents of isolated areas.

A core team of six people, based in Cagayan de Oro, will manage the project and provide technical support. The two mobile teams, which will cover several villages and evacuation centres, particularly in areas located furthest from the city centre, will have five members: two physiotherapists/occupational therapists, a psychosocial worker, and two community facilitators.

Handicap International is focusing its actions on setting up Disability and Vulnerability Focal Points in order to help the elderly, pregnant women, unaccompanied children and people with disabilities access aid.

Catherine Vasseur, head of Handicap International operations in the Philippines, said: "The problem is that those who are physically weak can hardly go to evacuation centres and access humanitarian aid.

"It's paradoxical, but it is often those who need it the most who struggle to receive assistance."

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