HAGONOY Relief Operations

HAGONOY Relief OperationsA joint effort of the HAGONOY YOUNG LEADERS PROGRAM (HYLEAP) and AYALA YOUNG LEADERS ALUMNI

ASSOCIATION – BULACAN CHAPTER (AYLAA) in partnership with DON BOSCO MAKATI – CYM OFFICE and

18th SPECIAL FORCES COMPANY (RIVERINE) SPECIAL FORCES REGIMENT (AIRBORNE), SFR (A), SOCOM, PA

BackgroundAt the onslaught of typhoon Pedring and Quiel, Hagonoy Bulacan was one of the many towns in Central Luzon

which was hardly hit by heavy rains, big waves and eventually flood considering its proximity in the coastal area, Pampanga River and Angat and Bustos dams, respectively. The situation was aggravated with constant high tide and the natural below sea level elevation of the town. These caused the 26 barangays of the town to be submerged in water for two weeks affecting the lives of approximately 300-500 indigent families per barangay. Not only did it brought lost of properties but also lost of healthy and comfortable living of the affected families resulting from deprivation of decent home, clothing and food. Some of the families left their homes to stay in evacuation centers but most chose to stay in their houses’ rooftop and braved the rainy days and nights. Hagonoy was constantly in the headlines of national news as the dire need for food and drinking water became rampant among the residents of the town.

This situation moved a group of youth leaders from Hagonoy to initiate Hagonoy Relief Operations (HRO) to augment the efforts being done by the Provincial and Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council of Hagonoy, Bulacan especially in the hard-to-reach barangays where help is needed the most. HYLEAP served as a catalyst of a bayanihan among different individuals, organizations and companies whom may not know Hagonoy but were inspired by the intentions of not only feeding a hungry stomach at the moment but also igniting hope to spring back after the calamities.

Friends and Funds Raising: A Collaborative EffortIn between the raging storm and flood, an appeal for a quick response to help the victims through Hagonoy

Relief Operations is being sent to various networks of families, friends, colleagues, kababayans and even strangers by two youth leaders of HYLEAP who started the mobilization campaign on October 1, 2011 (Day 3 of the two-week struggle of the Hagonoenos). The following strategies were instrumental in mobilizing a significant amount of resources during the HRO:

Text and Call Blasts (Group Message) + Follow-up (Personal Appeal): A simple and short appeal for help by giving the recipient an overview of the situation and providing the opportunity to help in whatever means and ways he/she can, after confirming the pledge, an appropriate personal follow-up expedite the donation process

Facebook Shoutouts/ E-flyer tags: Online networking is a powerful platform for linking and connecting those who need help and those who can help, this particular means of promotion were able to connect HYLEAP to donors abroad and big organizations in Metro Manila which in return not only donated to HRO but also mobilized their own relief drive for Hagonoy Bulacan

Email Blasts: This served as a supplementary material providing details of donation such as cash and in-kind donations and the means of bringing this to the organizers

Personal Appeal during the NYD Steering Committee Meeting: Don Bosco Makati – CYM Office through Fr. Favie Faldas who saw the HRO post in facebook gave HYLEAP the opportunity to share the call for help among the member organizations of the National Youth Day Steering Committee and turned out to be one of the biggest movers of the relief drive. DBM – CYM Office with the support of the parish and the parishioners offered their space which served as holding area and pick-up point for donations from Metro Manila

Personal Appeal for Bayanihan during Flag Ceremonies: This is also one of the most heart warming means of promoting the campaign and rallying support among the students of DBM – Elementary and High School department. During their morning flag ceremony, HYLEAP was given a 5-10minutes window to appeal to the students and offer the situation as an opportunity for students to develop their sense of charity and social responsibility

In-kind Donations1. Big Heart Foundation (Global Fusion Inc. Family)2. Angel Foundation & Land Rover Philippines

HAGONOY RELIEF OPERATIONS || October 3 – 23 2011, Hagonoy Bulacan

3. Ged Ventura 4. Bernard Pulido5. Wellcross Freight Corporation through Mich Bracamonte 6. Saint Pedro Poveda College7. Fr. Dennis Soriano8. Ayala Mountaineering Club Inc.

Cash Donations1. Philippine Province of the Religious of the Assumption2. Christian Life Community of the Philippines3. Tinnah dela Rosa4. Jemmabel Salamat5. Armand Azada6. Simon Mossesgeld

TOTAL AMOUNT OF CASH DONATION P88, 075.00

Partnerships1. Don Bosco Church – CYM Office2. Don Bosco Parishioners3. Don Bosco Elementary and High School Department – Makati Campus4. Don Bosco Elementary and High School Department – Mandaluyong Campus5. Federation of National Youth Organizations (FNYO)6. Diocese of Balanga Bataan7. Manila Water Company8. Graduate Students Association – Mass Communication (University of the Philippines)9. 18th Special Forces Company (Riverine)10. Ayala Young Leaders Alumni Association (AYLAA)

Pick-up & Delivery, Purchasing and Repacking of Relief GoodsVon Irvin Camangon, One of HYLEAP’s core team members’ family residence in Malolos, Bulacan served as the

repacking station of the HRO. For two weeks, Camangon’s humble home has become home to volunteer students and youth leaders who industriously and patiently sort, repack and gather relief goods ready for distribution to the target barangays.

SF18 made several trips to Manila and Bataan to pick-up in-kind donations from various donors:

October 5 – Don Bosco Makati – CYM Office, Saint Pedro Poveda College and Global Fusion Inc. Office 1 truckload of in-kind donations (6x6 military vehicle)

October 12 – Don Bosco Makati – CYM Office, Christian Life Community of the Philippines 1 truckload + 1 trailer of in-kind donations (6x6 military vehicle) – Diocese of Balanga Bataan through Fr. Joshua 1 truckload of repacked goods for distribution in Hagonoy and Calumpit + 1 box of assorted medicines

October 18 – Don Bosco Makati – CYM Office, Don Bosco Mandaluyong Campus, Wellcross Freight Corporation 2 truckloads of in-kind donations from the students of the two Don Bosco campuses

Cash donations were used to buy rice and bread to complete the pack of relief goods that can sustain an average family for 1-2days. A small part of the cash donations were also used to support the logistical needs of the relief drive.

Actual Distribution


Good intentions never fail; the collaborative efforts of the partners bore good fruits. The only concern remaining is the actual distribution process: 1)what vehicle to use considering the flood level condition in the target barangays 2)how to select the target beneficiaries and 3)coordinating the distribution per barangay factoring the time and accessibility constraints.

Since HYLEAP has established a good reputation and relationship among community stakeholders for the past three years in Hagonoy as a community-based and volunteer driven youth organization, it has easily put up a system for coordination and help mechanism in transporting the goods from the repacking station and sending advance party who will coordinate the selection of target beneficiaries and some logistical arrangement for the actual distribution of the relief goods. As a constant partner in most of its community development initiatives, SF18 proactively partnered with HYLEAP not only in transporting and distributing the relief goods to the beneficiaries but also in ensuring the safety of the youth volunteers in the actual distribution.

Different approaches were used per barangay with the sole purpose of “giving relief to whom it is needed the most”. In areas where HYLeaders are present, they served as area coordinator securing the appropriate list of indigent families, senior citizens, persons with disabilities or solo parents. The numbers of relief good allocations per barangay depends on 2 factors: 1) extent of damage (whether the barangay is hardly hit both by the typhoon and flood) and 2) accessibility of the barangay and frequency of relief goods distribution/ration (whether the barangay has received relief goods from the government and other NGO’s, private corporations and individuals which, most of the times is constrained by accessibility or means of transportation to the recipient barangay).

First BatchOctober 3

Name of Barangay Number of Recipient FamiliesBarangay San Isidro 170 familiesBarangay Iba (bukid) 250 families

Second BatchOctober 8

Name of Barangay Number of Recipient FamiliesBarangay Pugad (island/coastal brgy.) 400 familiesBarangay Tibaguin (island/coastal brgy.) 717 families, 220 childrenBarangay San Juan (bukid) 120 families

Third BatchOctober 11

Name of Barangay Number of Recipient FamiliesBarangay Carillo 360 families

Fourth BatchOctober 16

Name of Barangay Number of Recipient FamiliesBarangay Palapat 300 familiesBarangay San Juan 250 familiesSitio Buga 150 families

Barangay San Jose 270 families

Fifth BatchOctober 23

Name of Barangay Number of Recipient FamiliesBarangay San Miguel 250 families

TOTAL NUMBER OF RECIPIENT FAMILIES 3, 237 FAMILIES +

220 CHILDREN (Brgy. Tibaguin)




Documents

HAGONOY Relief Operations