Advisory: Super Typhoon in the Philippines

On Thursday, Dec. 16 a super typhoon tore through the Philippine’s southeast islands. Floods and strong winds have damaged or destroyed homes and churches.

The UN has stated, “A total of 2.6 million individuals have been affected… and around 662,000 people are displaced.” Of those 2.6 million people, we know that over 50,000 sponsored children were in the path of this devastating storm. We have confirmed that 12,024 Compassion children have been affected, and 9,593 of those children sustained significant damage to their dwellings. The remaining 2,431 completely lost their homes. We are notifying sponsors of their children’s statuses as we are able, but in many cases, we’re waiting to confirm details such as safety, home status and effect on the family’s livelihood. Not only are our children suffering, but hundreds of our pastors and staff have experienced tremendous loss as well.

There is immediate need for water, rice and housing material. Please be comforted knowing that Compassion staff members on the ground in the Philippines are trained to assess impact and provide support and relief to families.

If you feel led to respond to the impact caused by this storm, prayerfully consider the Disaster Relief Fund which provides help to children and families during this difficult time.