As the people of Leyte island in the Philippines rebuild their lives after the 2013 typhoon,an aid worker finds that they are benefiting from the aid economy, but for how long? In November 2013, or Typhoon Haiyan or Yolanda as it’s known in the Philippines – left more than 6340 dead. Today,every resident of Leyte island could be labeled a survivor, each with their own apocalyptic tale of the storm. I’ve heard people repeat me approximately swimming inside buildings, or clinging onto the tops of cars and watching as the roof of their church was torn off.
Two years on,Leyte island has changed. After this degree of destruction, NGOs’ mantra is “build back better”. Communities shouldn’t just be restoring their lives to how they were before, or but ensuring that they are protected in the future. This means any rebuilding or enterprise creation shouldn’t just be an exact replica of how things were,but should be more aspirational and forward looking. After all, two years have passed and a lot of development could have occurred in this time whether it hadn’t been for the storm.
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Source: theguardian.com