Rebuilding houses in the Philippines
Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines last November. It was one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall, and in the Philippines it was the deadliest typhoon on record. More than 6,000 people lost their lives, and millions were left homeless.
27-year-old Maria Lukowska was in Warsaw working as a lawyer when she first heard about the disaster, and decided to help the typhoon’s victims. Two weeks later she flew to the Philippines to work as a volunteer and until today she’s still on Bantayan Island organizing aid logistics, health care, and new shelters for families.
Listen to the report from Magdalena Fijalkowska, Bantayan Island, Philippines
Maria Lukowska says that she and the volunteer crew “have managed to distribute over 188 sets of construction materials for the families” (Photo: Maria Lukowska)
- Carpenters and construction workers have also been enlisted to help. So far, Maria and the other volunteers have managed to coordinate the construction of more than 700 houses (Photo: Maria Lukowska)
- Maria and the other volunteers have also set up schools so that local children can keep going to classes (Photo: Maria Lukowska)
- Maria is passionate about humanitarian work. She’s been volunteering for more than 10 years, and she’s not planning on stopping anytime soon. It’s important work, she says (Photo: Maria Lukowska)
- “I’m doing this because I believe that it’s something that should be done and I’m really privileged to work with these communities, to feel their spirit, and to be inspired,” Maria says (Photo: Maria Lukowska)
