Since 2020, the Oikos Sisters have been reaching out to communities who have been hit by terrifying typhoons.   As the climate changes, bad weather has increased around the world, and here in the Philippines there are not enough resources available to help all the communities affected by these treacherous storms.  Not only are homes damaged, many are completely washed away and the little that the poor have is washed away with the homes.  Livelihoods are also made nonexistent as the storm destroys fishing boats, rice fields and coconut trees.  On Samar Island, many families make money from harvesting coconuts.  They are made
into many products for selling.  When typhoons destroy the coconut trees, it can take 7-10 YEARS until they produce enough coconuts to make a living from again.  And what the typhoon itself does not destroy, the flooding that comes as a result of the storm does, including drinkable water, gardens and even pigs and chickens are washed away in the flood waters.  It is quite devastating!

The Oikos Sisters’ first emergency relief mission was during the pandemic with Typhoon Ambo in May 2020…quite a few months outside of “typhoon season.”  Gathering supplies from local benefactors and with much help from The Poor Household of God, the Oikos Sisters ventured to the northern part of their region of Eastern Samar to help 3 communities affected by the storm.  Bringing food, tarps, drinking water, water filters, vegetables, eggs, rice along with soap, buckets and household items, the Oikos Sisters planned 3 missions to the ravaged areas, two to three hours away from their home in Borongan City.

The second mission for typhoon relief was a result of Super Typhoon Odette in 2021, just before Christmas.  This mission, in which in one community alone 180 homes were damaged including 30 that were completely washed away, focused on building and repairing homes.  With help again from our local benefactors, The Poor Household of God and the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters, we accomplished out goal of building 30 homes, repairing the damaged homes and once again bringing food, water and household supplies to the people.  In this mission, we introduced psyco-social support to the youth and adults who suffered greatly as a result of the storm.  With help from their scholars who graduated from social work, they were able to help these victims of the storm emotionally as well as physically and spiritually.

As the storms continue to come and destroy lives and livelihoods, the Oikos Sisters are determined to be hope for the hopeless, help for the helpless.  If you would like to help the Oikos Sisters in their mission to rebuild homes and communities after storms, please consider making a donation by clicking here.