A Tale of Two Catastrophes

Two weeks on from Typhoon Haiyan and following a brace of new reports on the crisis in Syria, our CEO reflects on two very different disasters with two very different sets of needs, but one unified call: they need our help and we will be there for them.

By Justin Byworth, Chief Executive, World Vision UK

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

Dickens’ famous opening seems to fit these last two weeks when the joys and woes of working in a humanitarian organisation have been writ large.

The quiet dignity of the Filippino people amidst the tragedy and loss of the incomprehensible devastation of Typhoon Haiyan, and the overflowing generosity of the British public.

Away from the headlines, the cruel, slow demise of the Syrian nation relentlessly notches up more of children - dead, traumatised or homeless - while diplomats try to broker talks that could bring some glimmer of hope for peace.

In both Syria and the Philippines the world’s humanitarian agencies are straining to meet overwhelming needs. At times like these we know why we’re here every minute of every day.

My colleagues across World Vision instinctively swing into action - communicators, aid workers, fundraisers, campaigners alike and join hands with other aid agencies, governments, companies, communities. We can do so much more together than by ourselves. With two such different emergencies at the same time, the comparisons and questions can be stark.

No easy choices

In the Philippines, how do we match the massive inflow of funds with an outflow of aid to rapidly reach communities across a typhoon ravaged archipelago?

With Syria, an ongoing, human-made storm, how can we capture the hearts and minds of the public to get resources to flow to a tragedy just as large but more complex?

There are few easy choices as we strive to mobilise and deploy resources – human, financial and material – to both emergencies.

These choices mean little to 8 year old Tasnim as winter comes to her tent in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley or to newborn Josephine sheltering with her Mum in a battered and broken school while her Dad tries to re-make a home from the rubble of their house on the island of Cebu.

The human faces

Tasnim is fortunate not to be among the 11,000 child casualties of this war described in two new reports this week: ‘Stolen Futures’ from the Oxford Policy Group and ‘Stand with Me’ from World Vision, which calls for an end to violence against children in Syria.

I met Tasnim in September and her words still haunt me, “Death. That night I saw death,” describing the horrors of surviving the 21 August chemical massacre in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta.

Josephine arrived on this earth just one day before Typhoon Haiyan struck. Her mother Edwina clutched her tiny form tightly and wept as she told World Vision aid workers of their ordeal, fleeing from their flattened bamboo home to the local school and then - as its roof ripped off - across fields to the town hall.

World Vision’s distribution of food, water, soap and other household basics five days later was the first of many which they’ll need as they rebuild their home, livelihood and community in the weeks and months ahead.

The resilience and dignity of Rawda, Edwina and millions like them in and around Syria and in the Philippines leave an impression as powerful their needs - the resourcefulness of Syrian refugees finding some way to forge safe, loving homes for their children; or the speed with which so many Filipinos are already rebuilding their homes and starting to restore their livelihoods.

Our own staff are so galvanised into action by this that we need to make sure they’re supported too and don’t burnt out on hundred hour weeks and become unable to sustain an effective response.

From strategy to tragedy

My time, thoughts and prayers have also been with those leading World Vision in the Philippines and Middle East.

Jody has experienced an earthquake and typhoon in his first three months in post with World Vision Philippines told me, "My job’s turned from strategy to tragedy."

Conny has worked tirelessly for over two years to scale up our programmes across Lebanon, Jordan and inside Syria and to advocate with UN and governments.

We are not alone in this, our spirits are sustained by other members of the UK’s Disaster Emergencies Committee as together we channel the extraordinary solidarity and generosity of the British public and by the UK government who continue to lead by example as humanitarians in the international community.

Glimmers of hope

The balance of hope and despair can often seem precarious, but two moments in the last week have captured the hope that is beginning to shine through for me. Two images that capture so well the contrasting nature of the emergencies in Syria and the Philippines and the actions from local to global that can make a real difference.

The first was the church hall in my own Oxfordshire village heaving with families enjoying a fantastic Filipino feast. The kitchen was bursting with the energy of a few local Filipino women who told me, “After spending the week crying in front of our TVs we decided we had to do something,” and in the process have raised thousands of pounds for relief to survivors of Typhoon Haiyan.

Secondly, yesterday UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, announced a date for the start of Syrian peace talks in Geneva, 22nd January 2014. This follows many months of intense diplomatic efforts, campaigning and much prayer. No doubt a long and winding road lies ahead, but this could be the first milestone and best chance for Syria’s children who otherwise face not just another winter of suffering but a lost generation.

Let us all keep working, giving, praying, acting to turn around Dicken’s words so that “the winter of despair” truly becomes “the spring of hope”.

The generosity of the British people, who have rallied behind the children and families of both the Philippines and Syria, have filled us with awe and admiration. We are so grateful for all of your donations, your Tweets and Facebook messages of support and your willingness to raise the profile of the children we are fighting to help across the world.