,
Director of the ILO Philippine Office
As you approach Tacloban from the air, you get a clear idea of the mammoth scale of the destruction wrought by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).
On the ground, you are confronted with apocalyptic scenes – houses destroyed, businesses reduced to rubble, fields turned to mud, and boats smashed to smithereens.
It’s just heart wrenching to think of the thousands of lives that were lost and the millions of livelihoods that were devastated. Many of these people were trying to build a life for themselves and their families, trying to get out of poverty. Then the storm came along and took everything away from them. Without social security nets, without decent work, many of these families run the risk of being thrust back into poverty and it could take generations to get out of it.
