THE CHURCH WORLD SERVICE: EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM
CWS EMERGENCY APPEAL: PHILIPPINES (LEYTE) LANDSLIDE
March 17, 2006


SITUATION: A massive landslide buried an entire village (barangay) in
Barangay Guinsa-ugon, in the town of St. Bernard, southern Leyte
province in the Philippines on Feb. 17.  Hundreds of tons of rocks, mud
and debris crashed down from Mount Can-abag, flattening everything in
its path and burying the entire barangay at the foot of the mountain.

The landslide buried 281 houses and an elementary school packed with 246
schoolchildren and teachers.  A total of 1,149 casualties were recorded
- 139 are known to have been killed, 30 were injured and 980 remain
missing and are presumed dead.


RESPONSE: Following the tragedy, the National Council of Churches in the
Philippines (NCCP), a CWS partner and member of the Action by Churches
Together (ACT) International network, sent personnel to the affected
areas to co-ordinate with the local churches and partners and conduct a
needs assessment.

As a result the NCCP, with CWS support, plans to provide assistance that
is focused on rehabilitation because sufficient crisis-phase relief has
already been provided. Activities include food, food-for-work,
medicines, shelter, agriculture, water, community facilities and
disaster preparedness training.

The CWS-assisted response centers on assisting survivors and the
residents of the nearby barangays who have been relocated to safer
villages. The majority of the families are farmers. A total of l of
1,000 families will be assisted in all; additional beneficiaries will
include participants of education and training activities.

Specific objectives include:

- To provide emergency assistance to around 500 families who are still
in need of such provision (food and medicine);
- to provide agriculture assistance to 300 farmers and their families
through the distribution of seeds, farm implements, livestock and
poultry;
- to provide materials for the repair and re-construction of houses for
200 families;
- to provide food-for-work for individuals who will undertake house
repair or re-construction, community rehabilitation projects and other
community facilities;
- to conduct disaster management seminars and training among the
affected communities and disaster-prone communities.


The 500 families needing further relief assistance will receive relief
bags comprising 7 kilograms of rice, 3 canned goods, and =BD kilogram of
sugar, =BD kilogram of dried fish, =BD kilogram of dried beans, =BC kilogram
of salt and 1 pint of cooking oil.

Agricultural assistance for the 200 farmers will include rice, corn and
vegetable seeds to farmers who need such assistance. Farm tools and
implements will also be provided for those who have lost all their
possessions and livelihood. Each family will be provided with at least
one sack of rice seeds enough to cover at least a half hectare of land.
As an additional provision, each farmer will be provided with 10 kilos
of corn seeds or a variety of vegetable seeds (string beans, eggplant,
tomato, squash and bitter gourd) - at least 100 grams for each kind.

Families who have been relocated by the local government will be
provided with shelter assistance. Each family will be provided with the
following materials for the construction of a house: 20 sheets of
galvanised iron; 20 kilos assorted nails; 3 pieces ridge roll; 2,000
boards of wood and lumber; sealant, paint and paint brushes; basic
carpentry tools (hammer, saw, meter); toilet bowl and cement

Community members will collectively help build their houses through the
"bayanihan system" (helping one another).  Food-for-work will also be
provided to those who will participate in the collective work of house
construction as well as in the construction of community facilities.

Disaster management seminars and preparedness training will also be
conducted not only to communities affected by the landslide but other
communities as well which were identified to be at risk.

The villages to receive education and training activities will be
determined on the proposed relocation sites (to be identified by the
local government).  The training will be conducted with the communities
where housing and agriculture assistance will be provided.

The response will continue through December 2006.

Total budget is: $200,170

Includes:
Food assistance (crisis phase): $4,020
Direct assistance (post-crisis), includes food-for-work; shelter
repair; agricultural assistance; construction; seminars and training:
$169,350.
Staff expense: $23,400

Contributions to support this emergency appeal may be sent to your
denomination or to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN,
46515. Please designate: Philippines (Leyte) Landslide #6529

For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is
responding -- or to make a credit card contribution -- please visit the
Church World Service Website at www.churchworldservice.org or phone
(800) 297-1516.

CWS Emergency Response Program special contacts: (212) 870-3151;
International: dderr@churchworldservice.org
Domestic: lreedbrown@churchworldservice.org

CWS / ERP web site: www.cwserp.org

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International              web: www.cidi.org
    Disaster Information          listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                                guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -