Aljon Branee and Angel Ibano are live-in partners residing in Barangay Talisay in the municipality of San Andres in Quezon Province. Before the pandemic, Aljon was a fisherman. When consecutive typhoons hit the province, he stopped fishing and now works part-time at a rice mill while Angel takes care of their children.

Strong winds brought by typhoons Quinta (I.N. Molave) and Rolly (I.N. Goni) completely wrecked Aljon and Angel’s house which was made of light materials. They repaired it using scraps left from their damaged house to provide a temporary shelter for their children. Unfortunately, this resulted to them not being able to qualify for emergency shelter assistance from the government. The local government requires that damaged houses remain unrepaired to be listed among partially and totally damaged houses. Because they already fixed their house, they were not included in the list of those who will receive housing assistance from the local government. They have not received any assistance from other humanitarian actors either.

Aljon and Angel were among the families interviewed by the Southern Tagalog People’s Response Center, Inc. (STPRC) during the conduct of Damages, Needs, and Capacities Assessment (DNCA) immediately after the typhoon left the country. Upon validation, they were included in the list of beneficiaries who will receive food packs and hygiene kits thru the support of Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH), a German humanitarian organization.

On Dec. 18, 2020, the couple received a food pack containing rice, mung beans, sardines, and cooking oil and a hygiene kit consisting of rubbing alcohol, face mask, and handwashing soap. Both said that the support afforded them a breather from worrying about where to get food for the coming days. Angel said the assistance will probably last for two weeks.

A total of six barangays from two municipalities benefited from this project. The recipients were from the vulnerable sectors: senior citizens, farmers, fishermen, and those with partially and totally damaged houses. The project is an emergency response assistance to Typhoon Rolly-affected communities in Quezon Province.