Category 5 typhoon Odette (international name Typhoon Rai) made landfall in the Philippines and wreaked devastation in the Visayas and Mindanao Region of the Philippines. It was one of the strongest and deadliest typhoons in recent years, forcing over 300,000 people to flee their homes, leaving hundreds dead and millions of dollars worth of damage to livelihood and infrastructure. A week before Christmas, Filipinos are either reeling from the loss and destruction from another natural disaster or scrambling to raise funds and gathering relief goods to send to those in dire need.

Help on the ground

The super typhoon affected almost all the areas served by International Care Ministries (ICM): Cebu, Bohol, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Iloilo, Kalibo, and Palawan. The initial landfall was in Siargao, where the organization will be opening its newest base soon. ICM is a poverty alleviation non-profit organization that has been working with the ultra-poor families in these provinces for nearly 30 years now.

Though many of its own staff have been affected, ICM’s relief operations among the ultra-poor communities began as soon as the typhoon passed because of the organization’s unique position to help during the crisis. There are currently 600 full-time staff who live in these communities and ICM has pre-positioned anti-malnutrition food in the provinces for these exact times. ICM’s 10,000 partner pastors will help identify the specific families in dire need so they could get help quickly.

Over the next few weeks, if funding allows, ICM will be able to help families and pastors rebuild their homes and lives.

If you would like to help empower ICM to help as many families as possible, you can donate here.