Village Partnerships: Tacloban City
Partner: Grove Church
Population: N/A
Households: N/A
Status: Active
Location: Tacloban City, Philippines
GPS Coordinates: N/A
Village History
Tacloban City is located in Leyte Province, Eastern Visayas, Philippines. Ninety percent of the city’s residents are Warays, while the others are Cebuanos, Ilongos, Boholanos and Tagalogs.
Costa Brava, a community located in Barangary 86 of Tacloban City, used to be a squatters area with high rates of crime, prostitution and illegal drugs — it then became one of the areas most devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. Since then, most residents have been relocated to other areas by government and non-government agencies alike. For those who remain, the workforce relies on local businesses selling food, fish or sari-sari (convenience items).
Completed Activities & Impact
Accomplishments achieved since November 2015:
Economic and Rural Development
The rent to own program, which began in March of 2016, is a livelihood project that allows residents to earn income by transporting people via motorbike and sidecar. The program is designed for fathers who are not in the fishing business and have no other livelihood. After making payments of P200 a day over three years, participants will become permanent owners of their vehicle. Portions of said payments are used for church operating expenses and programs such as funeral assistance, medical care and other urgent needs; the remaining funds are used to buy vehicles for future participants.
Since beginning the program, the church has helped a family after the passing of their mother, provided assistance in the creation of two fish-vending businesses and two sari-sari stores, and purchased new musical instruments and audio/visual equipment (including an LED TV!) for the church (with the help of other donors).
Education
In partnership with WHI, the Wesleyan Church renovated the Tacloban Wesleyan Care Center in preparation for the opening of the preschool. They also installed a new gate, made four tables and chairs, and provided one hundred children with school supplies. Four students also helped repair the temporary classroom.
Additionally, four Child Rights sessions were held to promote awareness among parents about child and family rights.