Yesterday morning (night-time in the Philippines), very heavy rainfall caused rivers to burst their banks and flood the area.
Hundreds were killed and thousands more have been left stranded, without food or shelter.
Our experts are on the ground to distribute drinking water and essential items to families affected by the disaster.
As I sat across from the leaders of Arr Man Thit, a small community-based organisation which we fund for their child rights work, their eyes full of hope and fatigue, I realised that this was going to be one of those inspiring, yet gut-wrenching moments.
In Myanmar as the new government begins to ever-so-slightly open up and instigate dialogue with civil society, one township is making a bold move to replicate Save the Children’s community-based model of child protection.
In early October police in Peru rescued some 300 women, including 10 girls, who have been forced to work in prostitution rings in illegal gold mining camps in the south-east of the country. Save the Children helped bring the issue to the attention of the authorities.
On a rainy afternoon in September, I had an opportunity to meet with a highly successful child protection group that Save the Children supports in Myanmar (Burma).
I couldn’t avoid the look of unreserved terror on their faces. The uncertainty about what lay ahead and the large crowds gathering must have been unimaginably intimidating for these young children who had left everything behind in Somalia.
The plot is simple. A 13-year old girl is asked by her father to collect water. On the way, she meets a man who offers her free water and food. This sounds too good to be true, and it is.
I was looking forward to seeing our programme, but I was mainly expecting to spend my time poring over budgets and staffing planners – fairly humdrum project management stuff. Witnessing the final moments of a revolution wasn’t in the plan.
Desperation is driving some parents to abandon their children at the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya after fleeing drought in Somalia.
One family I met described the long walk from Somalia they’d endured without food and water. They were exhausted when they arrived in Dadaab, their four children’s feet raw and bloodied, desperate for help. This is not unusual.
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