Family and neighbors of Heifer partner Jocelyn Seco cluster at the door of a makeshift cabin. Seco's house, in the background, was destroyed. Photos by Nacho Hernandez
Survivors in the Philippines are starting to rebuild in the wake of Typhoon Bopha. The powerful storm crashed into the island of Mindanao earlier this month, washing away entire villages and killing more than 900 people.
Heifer works on a number of projects in Mindanao, and Bopha left at least 366 Heifer families with homes that were either heavily damaged or entirely destroyed. Many families also lost the pigs and goats they rely on for food and income.
Manila-based photographer Nacho Hernandez set out to capture images of the damage this week. He will return in January, along with Heifer’s World Ark writer Annie Bergman, to gauge the progress in the rebuilding effort and explore the challenges of reestablishing homes and livelihoods in the aftermath of disaster.
Below is a short video and more photos by Hernandez of Heifer International project sites in Santa Josefa, Philippines. In the video, Elmer Negros and his son work to build a makeshift cabin in the place where their house used to stand. Their house, like that of their neighbor Noel Apan, was totally uprooted by Typhoon Bopha and sent flying tens of meters away. Most of the damage to homes and crops in this area of the southern Philippines was caused by the high winds from the storm.
Elmer Negros and his son build a makeshift shelter on the spot where their house once stood.
Belen Caldolso stands in her partially collapsed house while her granddaughter gets a bath outside.
A pig cowers in a damaged pen at the Santa Jose Municipal Agriculture Office.
Dominador Banibar, a Heifer partner, stands with his wife Erinda and their baby on the spot where their house used to be.
