Philippines Typhoon Relief

January 2007 – November 2025
Last updated: July 2025

Since 2007 All Hands and Hearts (AHAH) has supported communities across the Philippines impacted by typhoons and earthquakes. Our work is tailored to the unique needs of the disaster-impacted communities we work alongside. Primarily, this takes the form of restoring access to education by rebuilding schools devastated by typhoons . In Araceli, Palawan, this took the form of restoring livelihoods through facilitating fishing boat repairs led by an entirely Filippina team.

In August 2025, we are launching our 25th school recovery program, where we will mobilize volunteers and local masons to work alongside the community of Obi to rebuild five sustainable classrooms and improve essential Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities at Obi Integrated School on Catanduanes Island, Bicol.

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Our Work

Our latest program is taking place on the island of Catanduanes, Philippines, where we’re working to create safe and healthy learning environments for students impacted by Typhoon Pepito.

From August to November 2025, we will support Obi Integrated School by constructing five new typhoon- and earthquake-resilient classrooms and installing essential Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, including renovated bathrooms and a water filtration system to provide clean drinking water. We will also build a safe playground and deliver community-focused training such as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), or Child Protection Training in partnership with local organizations, such as Streetlight. With these efforts, children will be able to continue their education safely and with dignity, even in the aftermath of disaster.

Disaster Profile

The Philippines is one of the most typhoon-impacted countries globally, with roughly 20 impacting the region annually. Typhoons, known as tropical cyclones and hurricanes in other parts of the world, are among the deadliest disasters.

Super Typhoon Peptio, known locally as Man-yi, hit the Philippines in November 2024 with sustained winds of up to 195 km/h and storm surges reaching 7 meters. The typhoon unleashed devastating floods and landslides that buried homes and claimed at least eight lives. Its impact was compounded by a series of earlier storms, affecting around one million people and displacing nearly 700,000, many of whom are still struggling to rebuild and recover months later.

In the Bicol region, 408 schools and 244 classrooms were destroyed, severely impacting access to education. On the island of Catanduanes alone, 108 schools were completely leveled, leaving thousands of children without safe learning spaces and further delaying their return to normalcy.

Constructing With Sustainability

AHAH is deeply committed to using environmentally conscious and durable building practices wherever possible when rebuilding after disasters. In this program supporting Obi Integrated School, we are constructing classrooms with both sustainability and resilience at the core of the design. The classrooms will be built using locally sourced, eco-friendly materials such as treated Taeda Pine, valued for its high structural strength, and traditional amakan walls, which help regulate indoor temperatures and stabilize internal pressure during high winds. These thoughtful design elements ensure the buildings can withstand earthquakes and typhoon-force winds of up to 254 km/h, providing a safe, long-lasting environment where students can learn, grow, and thrive, even in the face of future disasters.

Program History

Southern Leyte, Philippines | May 2024 - March 2025

From May 2024 to March 2025 we mobilized 255 volunteers in Southern Leyte to provide safe and healthy learning environments for students affected by Typhoon Rai. Our team successfully constructed a disaster-resilient building with four classrooms at Mahayag Elementary School, as well as a new building with four classrooms, and two additional learning spaces built with Amakan, a local sustainable material, at Sto. Nino High School. Mahayag Elementary School received a new playground and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, including accessible toilets and handwashing stations. Sto. Nino High School received access to clean drinking water for the first time through a new biosand filtration system, a 2,000-liter water tank and seven drinking taps. Both school communities participated in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) trainings and WASH and Child Protection sessions, attended by students, teachers, parents and community members.

Eastern Visayas, August 2023 - December 2023

In December 2023, after 100 volunteers dedicated five months of hard work, the team returned St. Francis School and its innovative WASH facilities to the Northern Tacloban communities. After a decade of educational disruptions caused by Typhoon Haiyan and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the new school will provide over 500 students with a secure and inviting space to learn, play, and thrive. The positive impacts of the newly constructed WASH facilities at St. Francis and Kapuso School extend beyond the schools, contributing to the enhanced well-being of the entire Guadalupe community.

Additionally, the community received training sessions on Child Protection (by local partner Streetlight), WASH and DRR to enhance knowledge and preparedness for future disasters.

Southern Leyte, August 2022 - February 2023

In Southern Leyte, Typhoon Rai caused significant damage to many schools, further disrupting students’ education which was already suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Philippines reduced COVID-19-related restrictions and moved back to face-face education, there was a compelling and immediate need for classrooms in the region.

In AHAH’s second program responding to the impacts of Typhoon Rai, we helped schools provide a safe and healthy learning environment for students. In January 2023, we constructed ten Transitional Learning Spaces (TLSs) to fill the critical, immediate need of over 600 students to have a safe learning space. We also hosted Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) training for the community, to increase DRR knowledge and best practices. A key aspect of our program is providing training on a comprehensive maintenance manual for the TLS. Additionally, through our local partner, we delivered Child Protection training to students and parents of the school.

The team did an incredible job building the classrooms and connecting with each school community. While the program may have finished, the impact is lasting and will go far beyond the buildings.

Araceli, March 2022 - August 2022

In Araceli, Philippines we worked across two boatyards, Tinintinan & Dagman to rebuild fishing boats, restoring livelihoods in time for the next fishing season. Led by a fully female Filippina team, the program repaired and rebuilt 73 fishing boats. Taking a community-driven, holistic approach to disaster relief, the program engaged only national staff and volunteers.

Our work in the island municipality of Araceli went beyond the physical repairs of the boats. In collaboration with local government agencies, we are delighted to start working with communities to provide Disaster Risk Reduction training to prepare them for future disasters.

Cagayan, January 2020 - March 2020

Typhoon Mangkhut (known locally as Ompong) hit the Philippines in September 2018, making landfall in the province of Cagayan as a Category 5 storm. The storm’s effects only exacerbated the damage caused to this area as two years prior; they had been hit by Typhoon Haime (known locally as Lawin), a similarly destructive disaster.

All Hands and Hearts opened a program in January 2020 to rebuild two primary schools. Though the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the program, we worked with local contractors to complete the school’s build.