In November 2013 Typhoon Haiyan tore a path of destruction through the Philippines affecting over 14 million people. The homes of five million people were damaged or destroyed, and over 6,000 people lost their lives. VSO EU AID volunteer Arnoud Keizer from the Netherlands spent nine months with the Filipino government and communities affected by disasters. He is supporting national efforts to use science and technology to prepare for and prevent future devastation.
What made you decide to volunteer?
I was interested becoming a VSO volunteer and after talking with a returned volunteer, I decided to apply. This volunteer had been out in Ethiopia and was really confident about his achievements – it sounded like a highly worthwhile and rewarding experience.
I wanted to take part in VSO in order to help people abroad extend their skills in project management and flood risk reduction, to give something back to society, and of course for the development of my own skills.
What did your role in the Philippines involve?
Disasters happen in the Philippines often, yet a lot of the emphasis is on how to respond to disasters instead of preparing for and actually preventing disasters.
I am using OpenStreetMap, which is free online software that can be used to digitally map villages, with the specific purpose of mapping critical infrastructure – e.g. hospitals, schools, pharmacies, police stations etc. I have run workshops train community leaders how to use GPS devices to do this in their own communities.
Knowing in advance where important buildings at least risk of flooding are located; which places are most suitable for evacuation centres and how likely a place can be reached after an earthquake is lifesaving information. Plus, you can then ensure that if you are building a new hospital, it is not at risk of flooding, mudslides, storm surges, etc.
What did you achieve as a volunteer?
I visited Tacloban recently, and it was really devastating to see an evacuation centre had been placed so close to the sea where a lot of people died…our project could have prevented these type of casualties because if you compare the OpenStreetMap for the area with the hazard maps it is clear that it was not a safe location for an evacuation centre
I think in the Philippines we can obtain a situation where everybody is prepared for a certain disaster and that will save a lot of lives.
What was it like working in Philippines?
I visited the region of Bohol where they had a large earthquake last year. It damaged thousands of houses, 200 people died. You can observe when you talk with the people that they all have experiences like this, with losing family or heavy damage to their property, so you can feel the toll of disasters really keenly.
Some of the real highlights for me so far have been the enthusiastic response to management training and the willingness to change the organisation. That fact really motivates me in my work.
Some things were challenging – such as getting access to all the information in the organisation and living in a densely populated city of 11 million people.
Did you gain anything from volunteering?
My background in the Netherlands is with managing large infrastructural projects especially waterways. This placement is really enriching professionally as well because it’s really also a way to learn and learn from the people here who work in the in the same field of disaster risk reduction so I really get a lot of input.
What would you say to someone thinking of volunteering with VSO?
For me working in the field of disaster risk reduction in the Philippines has been especially rewarding because you see these hazards happening and it is a great things to help this country with dealing with this problems they have and to help them not only overcome the disasters, but to prevent tragedies from occurring at all.
