UPDATE: July 16, 2008 - While Typhoon Frank hit the Philippines nearly a month ago, the destruction was extensive, making information gathering difficult. Compassion staff in the Philippines continue to assess the damage to church partners and gather information on the children and families who were affected.

Please pray for all those who lost homes or possessions in the typhoon. Also pray for God's wisdom and protection for all those who are involved in the recovery process.

Compassion Philippines will provide updates as information becomes available.

Compassion International will contact you if your sponsored child has been affected.

July 1, 2008 - Typhoon Frank hit the northern provinces of the Philippines June 21-22. Some of the hardest hit areas are the provinces of Iloilo (south of Manila) and Samar, where Compassion has a number of child development centers.

While nationally the death toll has risen to more than 500, several hundred more remain missing or are injured and hundreds of thousands lost their homes. Praise God that no Compassion-assisted children are missing or were hurt or killed by this typhoon.

Compassion Philippines staff are continuing to identify which children have been directly affected, although this is difficult as electricity and phone lines are  down.

While all Compassion-assisted children are safe, more than 900 children in 19 child development centers lived in homes that were destroyed or damaged. Compassion's Church Partners are collecting and distributing relief supplies to the affected children and their families.