More than half of these children are participants of Educo projects in the country

19 January 2018 — The NGO EDUCO [a member of ChildFund Alliance] warns that 8,703 Filipino children are suffering the consequences of the eruption of Mayon volcano, which has been active since Jan 13. The majority of them, 5,568 children, are participants of projects that Educo run in the country in the municipalities Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, Ligao and Legazpi.

On 13 January, the Mayon volcano began to erupt, spewing rivers of lava, rocks, ash and sulfur, which has forced the Filipino authorities to take action, closing schools, and declaring an emergency situation in Albay province. The country’s government has decreed an Alert Level 3 on a scale of 1 to 5.

As a result of the eruption, 38,939 people have been evacuated and many of them have been moved to around 30 schools, which are serving as evacuation centers. However, these sites are severely lacking in the facilities needed to cover the basic necessities of the evacuated population, especially children. 57% of the evacuation centers do not have sanitary equipment. Additionally, 26% of the centers do not have enough water and 38% of the affected families need kits for making it safe to drink.

In light of this situation, Educo is working with other NGOs to respond to the emergency situation which the affected families are dealing with. In the case of children, Educo advises that measures should be taken to guarantee their safety and their right to education. In order to do this, the NGO will provide safe places in which the children will not suffer any violence or aggression, as well as temporary classrooms in which they can continue having lessons for the duration of the emergency.

About Educo:

Educo is an international development NGO, focusing on the education and protection of children, which works in 15 countries via projects in which 500,000 children and 150,000 adults participate in.

Educo Press
Vanessa Pedrosa
626 43 52 15 / 635 22 12 79
vanessa.pedrosa@educo.org

This press release first appeared (in Spanish) on the Educo website