The CCS are still very active today. They’re open on the weekend when children are off school, providing nutritious food and safe drinking water, and giving children a safe space to play and receive support from trained volunteers. Kenna is now one of those volunteers.
“Each day of the weekend, I get about 60 to 100 children attending CCS,” Kenna says. “Such numbers can get unruly sometimes, especially among the younger kids, but you just need lots of patience.”
After receiving support herself at her local CCS, Kenna was determined to extend the same support to other children her age and younger. She trained with ChildFund to learn the science behind the games and other activities that are run at the CCS. Kenna and her peers also learned about child protection, particularly in the context of a post-emergency situation, where circumstances remain difficult as people are still recovering and infrastructure is being repaired.
Asked how much longer she will volunteer with ChildFund, Kenna is resolute in her answer: “As long as I’m still needed.”
Following a massive relief effort, ChildFund Philippines and its local partners are now working on the recovery phase of our Haiyan emergency response. For the next three to five years, this will include helping to restore livelihoods, strengthening community-based child protection mechanisms and providing disaster risk management and emergency response training for local communities. The work of local communities, including volunteers like Kenna, is absolutely vital to this ongoing effort.
One year on from Typhoon Haiyan, ChildFund Australia would again like to thank our Project Humanity partners and everyone who donated to support our relief and recovery work in the Philippines. More than $620,000 has been donated to date. Thank you!
