After Haiyan | A Journey to Wonderful.

When Supertyphoon Haiyan (local name Typhoon Yolanda) unleashed its fury a year ago, it left a trail of unimaginable devastation to lives and properties. One of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded, Haiyan left 6,300 casualties in the Philippines alone. Yet, despite the bleak scenario, hope continued to exist as public and private sectors as well as the international community joined hands to bring the country back on its feet. Globe Telecom was among the first companies to respond to the call for help.

“Globe recognizes how every little effort counts in rebuilding the nation, thus, it went out of its way to rally the employees, customers, partners, and other stakeholders to raise funds for the construction of homes and school buildings and for the creation of livelihood opportunities in areas hardly hit by the disaster. Project Wonderful was born out of this desire to aid in nation building. Ten months since it was launched, we now see the fruits of our efforts but we are not stopping until we fulfill all our commitments,” said Yoly Crisanto, Senior Vice President, Globe Corporate Communications.

Newly-constructed homes in Gawad Kalinga, New Washington, Aklan.

At present, Globe together with Gawad Kalinga, has completed a total of 162 homes in Brgy. Tambulilid, Ormoc, Leyte and Brgy. Fatima, New Washington, Aklan, as well as in Brgy. Tugas, Madridejos, Bantayan Island, Cebu via sponsorship of SingTel. An additional 28 houses are scheduled for construction in Libacao, Aklan early January for a total of 190 units. Globe is also set to give out 600 shelter kits to Libacao before yearend aside from the 940 shelter kits distributed in Madalag, Aklan earlier.

Shelter kits.

In addition, Globe also became a Development Sponsor for Aklan under the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR) where it spearheads initiatives in housing, education, livelihood, and health to help seven of the hardest hit municipalities: Libacao, Madalag, Banga, Batan, Altavas, Balete, and New Washington.

School construction site.

Globe not only provides houses for Aklan but is also working on building schools for its seven areas of concentration. With the help of Habitat for Humanity and Ayala Foundation, the company is building in two phases. The first phase involves the construction of “Noah’s Ark”-type classrooms that double as evacuation structures during calamities as they are equipped with three toilet and bath facilities each as well as a kitchen. The second phase is comprised of more than 30 regular but “built back better” classrooms to be funded from proceeds of the company’s enterprise-wide waste management program, as well as from parent-company Ayala Corporation.

To top it off, Globe also launched Project 1 Phone to educate Filipinos on the importance of proper disposal of electronic waster or e-waste and to contribute to the building of classrooms in Aklan. Under this project, everyone can support the efforts in Aklan by donating their old, non-working mobile phones for recycling at participating Globe Stores. Proceeds of the program will be used as additional funding for the schools. Cash donations of 5, 20, 50, 100, 500 denominations may also be sent directly to Habitat for Humanity by texting DONATE HABITAT and send to 4438.

Rebuilding the Nation with Globe's Project Wonderful.

It's been three months since the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan), which barrelled through the country and caused great damage to the Visayas region. Although it's been said that it will take a long time before the region can fully recover from the devastation, efforts to rehabilitate the typhoon-hit areas are continuous and ongoing. This, of course, wouldn't have been possible without the help of the international community and the big businesses here in the Philippines.

Photo credit: News Flash

Globe Telecom, for instance, recently launched Project Wonderful which aims to provide support in rebuilding communities through sustainable development. The company’s corporate response to nation building, Project Wonderful endeavors to provide shelter to the homeless, bring education to the children, and generate livelihood opportunities for the jobless.

For the housing sector, Globe through a P15-million donation of its mobile and home broadband brand Tattoo, will build houses in the Gawad Kalinga Rotary Village in Brgy. Tambulilid, Ormoc, Leyte for the benefit of 100 families as well as provide livelihood projects for the residents. Repair kits for 500 homes will also be given to affected host communities in Culion, Palawan; Daanbantayan, Cebu; and Guiuan, Eastern Samar in partnership with Habitat for Humanity while another 940 shelter kits will be distributed in Malaya and Madalag, Aklan in partnership with Non-Timber Forest Products.

One with the nation.

For the education sector, Globe will establish 100 tent classrooms in totally damaged elementary and secondary high schools as well as distribute at least 5,000 learning kits for students and teachers in identified tent schools. Latest statistics showed that Typhoon Yolanda damaged over 1 million houses, more than 20,000 classrooms of public schools, and P17 billion worth of agricultural products in regions 4B, 6, 7, and 8.

Also, Globe Telecom’s network in the Visayas has normalized, and local enterprises may now avail of their broadband services in the region.

“We recognize the importance of communication services as a tool that could enhance business opportunities. We want to help the local economy in these typhoon-hit areas by making it our priority to restore network services that include not only voice and text services but also mobile data services, “ said Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu. He stressed that in support of the government’s rebuilding efforts, Globe has accelerated the restoration of telco services in the area to encourage local businesses to resume normal operations, provide livelihood for local residents and in turn spur the local economy.

Proud to be part of Globe Project Wonderful! :)

The road to recovery may be long and arduous, but in terms of fighting spirit, Filipinos are relentless, unyielding, tenacious. After all, we are a nation of heroes, and heroes never falter.