Philippines

Focusing on Philippines...

Facts about Philippines:

1. Capital: Manila
2. Dialing code: +63
3. Population: 96.71 million (2012) World Bank
4. Gross domestic product: 250.3 billion USD (2012) World Bank
5. Official languages: English Language, Filipino language

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 7,107 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila while its most populous city is Quezon City; both are part of Metro Manila.

To the north of the Philippines across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan; Vietnam sits west across the South China Sea; southwest is the island of Borneo across the Sulu Sea, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia; while to the east it is bounded by the Philippine Sea and the island-nation of Palau. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world's greatest biodiversity. At approximately 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi), the Philippines is the 64th-largest country in the world.

With a population of about 100 million people, the Philippines is the seventh-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12 million Filipinos live overseas, comprising one of the world's largest diasporas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Various nations were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. Trade with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic states also occurred.

The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 marked the beginning of Spanish colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565; the first Spanish settlement in the archipelago was established. The Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in the predominant religion in the country being Roman Catholicism. During this time, Manila became the Asian hub of the Manila–Acapulco galleon trade.

As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, there followed in quick succession the Philippine Revolution, which spawned the short-lived First Philippine Republic, and the Philippine–American War. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands. After World War II, the Philippines was recognized as an independent nation. Since then, the Philippines has had an often tumultuous experience with democracy, which includes a People Power Revolution overthrowing a dictatorship. The nation's large population size and economic potential have led it to be classified as a middle power. It is a founding member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and East Asia Summit.

Read more about the Philippines at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines

ADRA Philippines

Development Projects:

In 2012 ADRA Development Projects have assisted 83,900 people for a total worth of 24.2 million pesos through different social development projects such as medical kits, goat banks, women's empowerment sewing machines, fish traps and bamboo growing. Also included in this figure are partner projects for Operation Christmas Child gift boxes and Trinity Ministries with both a safe house for women and children and sponsoring students for furthering their education.

Organic Vegetable Farming

Erlinda* (30 years old), is a housewife with three children. Her husband is a jeepney driver earning Php. 200 (US$ 4) a day. They used to live in Laguna but they moved to Mercedes in 2010 because they could not afford the raising cost of living in Laguna. With very little income, Erlinda and her family are trying hard to meet their basic needs and improve the lives of their children. One day, ADRA came to their barangay (village) and introduced the Sustainable and Resilient Agribusiness in Mercedes Project (SARAM). They were invited to attend the orientation meetings regarding organic vegetable farming. At first, she was hesitant and not interested in attending because she thought it’s just about gardening. But with the persuasive invitation and encouragement of Barangay Officials, she attended the first meeting. She thought, there is nothing to lose by going, so she attend the first meeting. It really helped her understand what the project was all about. Because she has spare time after she sends her children to school each day, she made attending the meetings a priority. After completing the orientation meeting and all the training meetings regarding organic vegetable farming, she has became so interested in growing vegetables the organic way. She is excited and happy to learn new things. She is thankful for the project, which open her mind regarding the benefit of organic vegetable farming. Instead of just waiting for her husband’s income, now she can do something to augment their food and income needs through planting vegetables in her own  backyard. She is looking forward to harvesting organic vegetables from her own garden. She was also very thankful for receiving a set of gardening tools from ADRA on September 18, 2013. She also plans to actively join the newly organized group of organic vegetable farmers in her village. Erlinda is one of the 420 vegetable farmers supported by MFAT and ADRA NZ & Philippines in Mercedes, Camarines Norte. The sustainable and resilient agribusiness development has 70% females learning organic vegetable farming techniques. *Not her real name.

Emergency Response Projects

Emergency Response Projects in 2012 assisted 99,997 people for a total worth of 26.8 million pesos in disaster relief. ADRA responded with 19 emergency relief projects during the year with the biggest and most deadly disaster being typhoon Pablo or Bopha which hit Mandanao in December.

ADRA in the Philippines sustains humanitarian efforts in typhoon hit areas Emergency Response Projects Written by Arjay Arellano    Thursday, 28 August 2014 00:00 The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in the Philippines has spent almost 8 million USD in combined emergency response and recovery efforts since Typhoon Haiyan struck the country in November last year, addressing the basic but crucial post-disaster needs of more than 160,000 individuals or 32,000 households in the Visayas region. Eight emergency response projects amounting to 1.9 million USD in total were already completed as of July this year. These included food relief distribution, provision of potable water and sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Disaster Risk Reduction trainings, self-recovery shelter projects and Cash-For-Work programs. These efforts were directed at severely affected communities in Leyte, Aklan, Iloilo, and Capiz provinces, although food relief aid also covered some areas of Northern Cebu just days after the typhoon. ADRA International, ADRA Network, ADRA Regional Office, ADRA Japan, Swiss Solidarity, Hong Kong Disaster Relief, Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH) Germany, and the Southern Asia-Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist church have made these initial efforts possible. Meanwhile, eight recovery projects are ongoing in the aforementioned provinces, with a projected total spending of 5.9 million USD. These projects primarily focus on rebuilding shelters, reviving sources of livelihood, food security and further DRR education. ADRA Network, ADRA Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom, GEZA Austria, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, and the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada are supporting the said recovery projects. Through the Support to Self-Recovery for Shelter (SSRS) program, ADRA is helping 5,950 households rebuild decent shelters. The organization has provided these families shelter kits composed of construction materials such as corrugated galvanized iron (CGI) sheets, GI sheets and coco lumber, and tool kits composed of tarpaulin, rope, nails, saw, hammer, shovel, machete and bucket, among others. The SSRS project had been completed in Kalibo, Aklan last July and had reconstructed houses for 550 families. This was part of the eight initial emergency response projects. Meanwhile, 4,000 shelters are still being constructed in Roxas (Capiz), 1,000 in the towns of Carigara and Dagami (Leyte), 500 in Ajuy (Iloilo) and 170 in Makato (Aklan). Livelihood is another crucial aspect in the recovery process of the typhoon survivors. ADRA has assisted fisher folks and their families in terms of reviving their fishing livelihood, which had been severely affected by the devastation of the super typhoon. Through the Boat Repair Assistance Grant (BRAG) program, the organization has helped a total of 1,716 households in Ajuy (Iloilo) and 500 in Roxas (Capiz) repair or construct their boats. In Bato, Leyte, ADRA is helping 300 families in the fishing community of Dawahon Island in terms of having better access to local food source. The residents on this island primarily rely on seaweed farming and fishing. ADRA is providing these families fishing tools such as fish traps and seaweed kits for seaweed production, and cash-for-work incentives for the locals. Last Updated on Thursday, 28 August 2014 07:30

Read more about ADRA Philippines at http://www.adra.ph/