UNited to Leave No One Behind Issue 7 May 2022

In March, we marked 100 days after Typhoon Rai (local name: Odette). To date, humanitarian organizations have implemented 11,000 multi- sectoral interventions to support the government’s Odette response, despite the funding shortfall, and the impact of Typhoon Megi (local name: Agaton) in April on many of the same Odette-affected areas.

To date, over 2,900 families remain displaced in six regions. Out of this displaced population, 1550 families are in evacuation centers while some 1400 families are staying with relatives or friends. Many of the shelters are temporary and people feel vulnerable living in them.

Recovery for these families is proving to be slow and uncertain. But there is good news.

In this issue’s Special Feature, we tell the story of Kent and Melissa Canoy, husband-and-wife storekeepers in the village of Poblacion, in Surigao del Norte province. Kent had given up a seafarer’s job 13 years ago so that he could be closer to his family. Together with his wife, Kent put up a sari- sari (convenience) store, which provided a decent livelihood for his family for the succeeding years.