I finally arrived yesterday evening (Saturday) in Manila. The trip was delayed in Dubai for four hours due to yet another tropical storm in the Philippines. So instead of a 3½ hour overlay it ended up being almost 8 hours.
The latest Tropical storm Typhoon Santi was strong and fast and was over in just under a day. There has been 4 big typhoons hitting the Philippines and the death toll is over a 1000 people. About 8-9 million people have been affected by the typhoons and many are without homes, food or shelter.
The work ahead for the government, UN agencies and NGOs will be huge. So far our efforts have been concentrated on distribution of food, blankets, mattresses, cooking utensils and basic medicine kits. In a longer perspective we will have to refocus on rebuilding but for now this is what we can do.
/Robert
På lördag kväll var jag äntligen på plats i Manila, resan blev kraftigt försenad och jag tillbringade 8 timmar på flygplatsen i Dubai. Orsaken till förseningen var den tropiska stormen (Typhoon) Santi som var stark och snabb. Under den senaste månaden har 4 stora tropiska stormar slagit till på Filipinerna, döds siffrorna är uppe i över 1000 och ca 8-9 miljoner har blivit hårt utsatta av de tropiska stormarna. Många har blivit hemlösa och saknar skydd och mat.
Arbetet som ligger framför regeringen, FN:s organ och NGO:s är enormt. Så här långt har våra insatser koncentrerat sig på att distribuera mat, filtar, madrasser, kok redskap och medicin/första hjälpen kits. I ett längre perspektiv kommer vi att behöva fokusera på att återuppbygga men just nu är det nöd insatser vits måste satsa på.
/Robert
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Deployment day 1
Ami:
Nu har övriga familjen varit i Danmark sedan i lördags. Dottern ser så lycklig ut när jag frågar om hon är glad hos farmor. (Tack för videosamtal på MSN!) Sonen ser ut att njuta också.
Tidigt i morse blev maken skjutsad till flygplatsen i Aalborg av en släkting och borde vara framme i London nu. Där väntar briefing om läget i Filippinerna, vad hans uppgifter går ut på och vilka som ingår i teamet. Hoppas att han bara mår lite bättre idag än han gjorde igår - efter att ha varit på en dansk vårdcentral och fått ta sin medhavda influensaspruta och sista "koleradrinken" blev han dålig. Ont i huvet, feber, dålig mage...Han var rätt trött igår när vi pratade.
Ami:
Now the rest of the family has been in Denmark since last Saturday. The daughter looks so happy when I ask if she is happy with her grandmother. (Thanks for the video call on MSN/messenger!) The son also seems to enjoy himselfself.
Early this morning Robert was transported to the airport in Aalborg by a relative, and should have arrived in London by now. There awaits briefing on the situation in the Philippines, what his assignment will be and information of the team he will be a part of. I hope he is feeling a bit better today than he did yesterday - after having been in a Danish medical center and gotten a "new influenza"-shot and the last dose of "cholera drink", he reacted a bit. Headache, fever, upset stomach ... He was pretty tired yesterday when we talked.
Nu har övriga familjen varit i Danmark sedan i lördags. Dottern ser så lycklig ut när jag frågar om hon är glad hos farmor. (Tack för videosamtal på MSN!) Sonen ser ut att njuta också.
Tidigt i morse blev maken skjutsad till flygplatsen i Aalborg av en släkting och borde vara framme i London nu. Där väntar briefing om läget i Filippinerna, vad hans uppgifter går ut på och vilka som ingår i teamet. Hoppas att han bara mår lite bättre idag än han gjorde igår - efter att ha varit på en dansk vårdcentral och fått ta sin medhavda influensaspruta och sista "koleradrinken" blev han dålig. Ont i huvet, feber, dålig mage...Han var rätt trött igår när vi pratade.
Ami:
Now the rest of the family has been in Denmark since last Saturday. The daughter looks so happy when I ask if she is happy with her grandmother. (Thanks for the video call on MSN/messenger!) The son also seems to enjoy himselfself.
Early this morning Robert was transported to the airport in Aalborg by a relative, and should have arrived in London by now. There awaits briefing on the situation in the Philippines, what his assignment will be and information of the team he will be a part of. I hope he is feeling a bit better today than he did yesterday - after having been in a Danish medical center and gotten a "new influenza"-shot and the last dose of "cholera drink", he reacted a bit. Headache, fever, upset stomach ... He was pretty tired yesterday when we talked.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Nyheter från Reuter om dagsläget...
Source: Reuters - AlertNet
Date: 20 Oct 2009
MANILA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The Philippines began evacuating thousands of people in northern areas prone to floods and landslides on Tuesday ahead of a powerful typhoon that has gained strength over the Pacific, officials said.
Typhoon Lupit, which means "fierce" in Filipino, was expected to make landfall around the far northern tip of the Luzon region by Thursday and dump more rain on typhoon-weary provinces, said Prisco Nilo, head of the weather bureau.
The Philippines is still recovering from two recent typhoons -- Ketsana and Parma -- which brought record-high rainfall that flooded the capital Manila and large swathes of farmland in northern provinces. More than 850 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. [ID:nMAN480820]
"Lupit is expected to be a much stronger typhoon than the two weather systems we had in the last four weeks," Nilo told reporters.
Lupit, a category 4 typhoon with centre winds of 195 kph (121 mph) and with gusts of up to 230 kph, was 890 km (553 miles) east of northern Cagayan province, the weather bureau said.
Thousands of residents in northern coastal and mountain areas had started to move to safer areas, said Lieutenant-Colonel Ernesto Torres, spokesman for the national disaster agency.
"Our troops in the field are assisting local government units in the pre-emptive evacuation of disaster-prone areas in the north," Torres told reporters.
The Philippine air force had also airlifted food, water and medicine to remote areas.
Ketsana and Parma damaged or destroyed more than 27 billion pesos ($580 million) in crops and infrastructure. [ID:nSP147596] (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Dean Yates)
For more humanitarian news and analysis, please visit http://www.alertnet.org/
Date: 20 Oct 2009
MANILA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The Philippines began evacuating thousands of people in northern areas prone to floods and landslides on Tuesday ahead of a powerful typhoon that has gained strength over the Pacific, officials said.
Typhoon Lupit, which means "fierce" in Filipino, was expected to make landfall around the far northern tip of the Luzon region by Thursday and dump more rain on typhoon-weary provinces, said Prisco Nilo, head of the weather bureau.
The Philippines is still recovering from two recent typhoons -- Ketsana and Parma -- which brought record-high rainfall that flooded the capital Manila and large swathes of farmland in northern provinces. More than 850 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. [ID:nMAN480820]
"Lupit is expected to be a much stronger typhoon than the two weather systems we had in the last four weeks," Nilo told reporters.
Lupit, a category 4 typhoon with centre winds of 195 kph (121 mph) and with gusts of up to 230 kph, was 890 km (553 miles) east of northern Cagayan province, the weather bureau said.
Thousands of residents in northern coastal and mountain areas had started to move to safer areas, said Lieutenant-Colonel Ernesto Torres, spokesman for the national disaster agency.
"Our troops in the field are assisting local government units in the pre-emptive evacuation of disaster-prone areas in the north," Torres told reporters.
The Philippine air force had also airlifted food, water and medicine to remote areas.
Ketsana and Parma damaged or destroyed more than 27 billion pesos ($580 million) in crops and infrastructure. [ID:nSP147596] (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Dean Yates)
For more humanitarian news and analysis, please visit http://www.alertnet.org/
Monday, October 19, 2009
Officersfamiljeliv The life in a SA-officer family
Ami:
Ja, så har det gått några dar. Idag har mejl gått fram och tillbaka om praktiska göromål-Robert måste ju ha visum för att resa till Filippinerna. Att fixa det går inte tillräckligt snabbt, då han ska resa till Danmark redan på lördag (höstlov hos farmor var inplanerat sedan tidigare) med barnen. Vaccinationer ska fyllas på. Han fick visserligen en hel del sprutor och tabletter när han var i Uganda, men en del behöver förnyas och någon ny tillkommer.
En hel del att pyssla med alltså.
Well, another day has passed. Today, e-mails been sent between IHQ and Robert about practical stuff; like the question about visa-it´s too late to get one from Sweden, because he leaves for Denmark on Saturday with the children (autumnvacation with grandma was already planned)
He also needs to know about vaccinations- he got some when he deployed in Uganda, but some needs refilling and maybe a new one or more vaccinations are needed.
Quite a lot to prepare then.
Så har vi pluggat. Robert insåg att han får avbryta sin kurs i och med att han åker, men jag fortsätter utan honom. Tråkigt att mista studiesamarbetet dock.Så ska man fixa fullmakter så jag kan utföra allehanda ekonomiska och juridiska transaktioner medan han är borta.
Alla datorer i hemmet behöver kollas av så att de är finjusterade, likaså trådlösa nätverk och annat som han är bäst på i familjen.
Vi har fullt upp, kan jag konstatera.
We also studied tonight. Robert realized that he has to quit the course/class he´s taking at Uppsala university, he won´t be able to study while in deployment. I´m sad to loose my studypartner.
We also have to renew the legal document/authority saying I have full financial judicial control of Robert´s assets back home. All computers need to be checked and adjusted, the wireless network too and everything else that he does best! We keep busy, that´s for sure.
Inte kan jag vara ledig den här veckan heller, har massor av skolbesök med Bibeläventyr åk 5, Skapelsen åk 1, dräll på högstadiet och övningar med körerna inför skolgudstjänsterna i adventsveckan. I morgonkväll ska vi i alla fall unna oss att träffa "govännerna" i Gullunge, ja platsen heter så, och njuta av sällskapet och kramas lite innan avfärden.
And of course-this week is a busy week of mine so i can´t take some time off; I have several schools to visit, Bibleadventure among 11-year olds, Creation myths with the 7-year olds, pastoring in high school and practice with the childrens choirs (musical about christmas)before advent worship for the schools.
Tomorrow night we will treat us by meeting our good friends though. So nice!
Ja, så har det gått några dar. Idag har mejl gått fram och tillbaka om praktiska göromål-Robert måste ju ha visum för att resa till Filippinerna. Att fixa det går inte tillräckligt snabbt, då han ska resa till Danmark redan på lördag (höstlov hos farmor var inplanerat sedan tidigare) med barnen. Vaccinationer ska fyllas på. Han fick visserligen en hel del sprutor och tabletter när han var i Uganda, men en del behöver förnyas och någon ny tillkommer.
En hel del att pyssla med alltså.
Well, another day has passed. Today, e-mails been sent between IHQ and Robert about practical stuff; like the question about visa-it´s too late to get one from Sweden, because he leaves for Denmark on Saturday with the children (autumnvacation with grandma was already planned)
He also needs to know about vaccinations- he got some when he deployed in Uganda, but some needs refilling and maybe a new one or more vaccinations are needed.
Quite a lot to prepare then.
Så har vi pluggat. Robert insåg att han får avbryta sin kurs i och med att han åker, men jag fortsätter utan honom. Tråkigt att mista studiesamarbetet dock.Så ska man fixa fullmakter så jag kan utföra allehanda ekonomiska och juridiska transaktioner medan han är borta.
Alla datorer i hemmet behöver kollas av så att de är finjusterade, likaså trådlösa nätverk och annat som han är bäst på i familjen.
Vi har fullt upp, kan jag konstatera.
We also studied tonight. Robert realized that he has to quit the course/class he´s taking at Uppsala university, he won´t be able to study while in deployment. I´m sad to loose my studypartner.
We also have to renew the legal document/authority saying I have full financial judicial control of Robert´s assets back home. All computers need to be checked and adjusted, the wireless network too and everything else that he does best! We keep busy, that´s for sure.
Inte kan jag vara ledig den här veckan heller, har massor av skolbesök med Bibeläventyr åk 5, Skapelsen åk 1, dräll på högstadiet och övningar med körerna inför skolgudstjänsterna i adventsveckan. I morgonkväll ska vi i alla fall unna oss att träffa "govännerna" i Gullunge, ja platsen heter så, och njuta av sällskapet och kramas lite innan avfärden.
And of course-this week is a busy week of mine so i can´t take some time off; I have several schools to visit, Bibleadventure among 11-year olds, Creation myths with the 7-year olds, pastoring in high school and practice with the childrens choirs (musical about christmas)before advent worship for the schools.
Tomorrow night we will treat us by meeting our good friends though. So nice!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
IES Filippinerna sön 18 okt
Ami:
Helgen har varit intensiv. All höststädning ska göras, en hel del plugg och så ska all packning fram, uniformspersedlar och annat.
Släkten ska informeras och alla planerade möten och gudstjänster måste avbokas och...
Ja, nu känns det att det är på gång!
Ami:
The weekend was intense. We have a lot to do before we leave for Denmark and grandmother Henny for autumn-vacation. Robert goes straight to London from Denmark so we only have these few days left.
During the weekend we have done some gardening, putting away all summer equipment, studied (well, a bit anyway-will have to do it monday night!), wash and pack the IES-uniforms, clothes and other stuff.
He used some time to call all our relatives to inform them and all our viking-friends that we want to see a last time before departure. We meet weekly to do handicraft a la 900-1000 AC, study the history and archeology of that period.
Helgen har varit intensiv. All höststädning ska göras, en hel del plugg och så ska all packning fram, uniformspersedlar och annat.
Släkten ska informeras och alla planerade möten och gudstjänster måste avbokas och...
Ja, nu känns det att det är på gång!
Ami:
The weekend was intense. We have a lot to do before we leave for Denmark and grandmother Henny for autumn-vacation. Robert goes straight to London from Denmark so we only have these few days left.
During the weekend we have done some gardening, putting away all summer equipment, studied (well, a bit anyway-will have to do it monday night!), wash and pack the IES-uniforms, clothes and other stuff.
He used some time to call all our relatives to inform them and all our viking-friends that we want to see a last time before departure. We meet weekly to do handicraft a la 900-1000 AC, study the history and archeology of that period.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Oups! Hoppsan!
Då var det dags igen! Telefonen ringde här under em med en förfrågan av CS ang tjänst med IES till Filippinerna!
Den 29 okt bär det av till london och därefter till Filippinerna för sex-åtta veckors tjänstgöring mitt i översvämningsområdena.
mer info följer...
Here we go again! The phone rang this afternoon and our CS asked if I could deploy with the IES to the Philippines. On Oct 29th I go to London and then on to The philippines for six-eight weeks service in the middle of the disasterarea.
Den 29 okt bär det av till london och därefter till Filippinerna för sex-åtta veckors tjänstgöring mitt i översvämningsområdena.
mer info följer...
Here we go again! The phone rang this afternoon and our CS asked if I could deploy with the IES to the Philippines. On Oct 29th I go to London and then on to The philippines for six-eight weeks service in the middle of the disasterarea.
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