Father's Day is a holiday for going home, but in 2009 thousands of people were left homeless on Father's Day, and the journey since has been marked with heartbreak…
On August 7, Typhoon Morakot made landfall in Taiwan bringing torrential rain. By August 8, Taiwan experienced enormous property damage and loss of life. Following the typhoon, World Vision Taiwan conducted a needs assessment determining that the affected area included 28 townships, 56 villages and approximately 200,000 individuals. The most serious impact of Typhoon Marokot included: major loss of life, homes destroyed (approximately 10,000 left homeless), and farmland buried by landslides affecting local livelihood and food security (approximately 200,000 affected).
Emergency relief and sheltering assistance
During the initial stages of emergency response, World Vision provided relief supplies at each of the 46 government established emergency shelters. Supplies included dry food, hot meals, relief kits for families and medical packages.
On August 12, four days after the deadly storm, World Vision Taiwan set up the first "Child Friendly Space" in Taitung. Soon after ten Child Friendly Spaces were established throughout the disaster region, including in Taitung, Pingtung, and Kaohsiung. In addition to social workers, more than 100 volunteers joined in the efforts, helping children with their homework, reading, group art projects, games and monitoring the children's physical and mental states.
By the end of August, typhoon survivors were gradually transferred to camps while awaiting permanent relocation. World Vision Taiwan was commissioned to support mid-term shelters in Kaohsiung County and Pingtung County, where social workers offered counseling and reconstruction consultations.
Through "Cash for Work" and "Collaborative Home Building" approaches, more than 100 typhoon survivors were involved in rebuilding permanent houses. As of September 2011, World Vision Taiwan has completed 158 houses in Taitung County, 528 houses in Pingtung County, and 7 shelter houses in Namasia Township, Kaohsiung County.
In order to avoid dependence, World Vision Taiwan also distributed vegetable seeds and chickens to survivors to help them return to their original tribal lifestyle and become self-sufficient.
In February 2010, the Ministry of Interior Affairs formally entrusted World Vision Taiwan with the Life Rehabilitation Project covering six indigenous townships in Kaohsiung County, Pingtung County, Taitung County and Chiayi County. Various social services including education, employment, livelihood, referrals, and psychosocial support were provided through the Life Rehabilitation Centers.
In addition, World Vision Taiwan is working with academic and business sectors to support livelihood recovery in the affected communities.