Plan aid has reached thousands of people affected by the typhoon

17 November 2009: Plan is starting long-term recovery programmes in communities affected by Typhoon Ketsana, having provided emergency support to hundreds of thousands of people in Vietnam and the Philippines.

In Vietnam, more than 87,000 people in 3 provinces -  Kon Tum, Quang Ngai and Quang Tri – have received 1 month’s emergency supply of food, including rice, cooking oil and fish.

While in the Philippines, Plan has reached 10,359 school children in our food for school programme.

Moving forward in Vietnam

With relief distribution completed, Plan is now focusing on rehabilitating communities. Our priority is getting 38,000 children back to school as soon as possible, providing water and sanitation facilities and supporting poor families whose houses were lost or severely damaged with shelter materials to help them rebuild.

Plan is also looking to support households economically through a cash for work scheme, where people will be enlisted to rebuild some of the damaged infrastructure.

A temporary shelter in a commune devastated by the disaster

Do Thi Thanh Huyen, Plan Vietnam’s communications co-ordinator, visited 3 communes in Quang Ngai province recently.

Huyen said: “Walking through the commune, you can see people fixing their houses, chopping felled trees, cleaning their gardens, and children in school. But when they stop to have a break, you can see the worry in their faces and you can hear their sighs. They do not know if they can earn enough for food and basic furniture for their families. They do not know if next year, the storm will hit their place again.”

Relief in the Philippines

In Tanay, one of the towns most severely damaged and least served, Plan has provided emergency supplies including food, medicines and hygiene packs.

Plan has also focused on getting children back into schools. We have provided cleaning tools and materials to schools so that they can clear away mud and debris and allow classes to resume. Plan has also given 8,604 elementary pupils school packs and hygiene kits.

Plan’s efforts are ongoing and we are doing assessments in the nearby towns of Barras and Jalaja, and in Cardona’s Talim Islands, which are still suffering from floodwaters. 

Typhoon Ketsana struck the Philippines on 26 September before hitting the central coastal provinces of Vietnam on 29 September.

Please make a donation to support Plan’s emergency work in Vietnam and the Philippines.