Last week our food distribution team specifically targeted hard-to-reach communities that had received little or no aid. On Friday we'd planned to go to four baranguays but the weather severely affected our progress. That, combined with fallen electricity
In 2008 HelpAge embarked on a five year journey to address the impact of HIV on older people and their families. With funding from the UK Big Lottery Fund, we worked with partners in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania...
Earlier this month, I attended the intersessional meeting between civil society and the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (OWG) in New York. The OWG is the group of UN member states that is leading the process towards...
People are on the move. Thousands are evacuating Leyte for Manila and Cebu and we’re planning on working in some of these centres to support older people. Today we visited an evacuation centre at Baranguay Tinago, Cebu City and...
Our second distribution this week took place in a barangay (village) called San Jose which is about 45 minutes' drive from Ormoc city. Not even the church still has a roof, but we still need to use the building...
Comparisons are odious but aid workers and the media seem intent on asking how Typhoon Haiyan compares with previous disasters. Well, Ormoc City reminds me of the Indian Ocean Tsunami days for sure, except it goes on for hundreds...
Three days after we last went to Bogo from Cebu, the road is even more congested than before. But this is a good sign as the traffic consists mainly of aid trucks. We finally get to the sports stadium...
The Philippines has been hit by a disaster of an unprecedented force. We have all seen the photos and videos of Tacloban and other places situated in the path of Typhoon Haiyan. Houses were blown apart as if made...
The drive from Cebu City to Bogo takes longer than we expect, four hours instead of the usual two. For the first three hours, the journey is pleasant, and we get a glimpse of ordinary everyday life in the...
Over the past year, I have been involved in the "Voices of the Marginalised" project as a researcher in Bangladesh. The research project was done by HelpAge, ADD International, Alzheimer's Disease International and Sightsavers and facilitated by Internati
Last week, HelpAge International, Sightsavers, ADD International and Alzheimer's Disease International launched the results of their collaborative research project ‘We can also make change'. Chaired by Fiona O'Donnell MP, the event highlighted the n
I had worked for HelpAge for less than two hours when I first spoke to Fransiskus, the Executive Director of our Affiliate in the Philippines, the Coalition of Services of the Elderly (COSE). Our inspiring discussion then was about...
