When Disasters Strike

by Evans Yonson (Philippines)

I come from a country where natural beauty is everywhere. We take pride in our natural resources - land, sea, air and the beautiful smiles of the Filipino people. We always find something to smile about. Because it's more fun in the Philippines.  

But, our country also has its share of disasters - natural and man-made calamities. Earthquake. Typhoons. Floods. Landslides. Famine. Forest fires. The latest devastation that hit the Philippines was Typhoon Haiyan leaving 6,300 dead and billions of dollars damaged to properties.

Government planners and scientists agree that such numbers could have been if people have been educated and informed about the coming of the disasters.

In 2011, my siblings and their families survived a catastrophic flash flood brought by Typhoon Washi. They lost everything. They have been informed two days before to take evacuate their abodes and seek higher grounds but never really bothered to heed the government's call. More than 2,500 died in this disaster.

These disasters could have been if these citizens have only been informed and educated about all things disaster, risk reduction, and preparations. 

When I went to my university in 2013, I immediately volunteered to our Disaster Risk and Reduction and Management Council and to help them out in their information, education and communication campaign for Cagayan de Oro City. I was mainly involved in education and awareness raising.

On July 10th, an hour after my last SUSI2017 class at Scripps College of Communication over at Schoonover Center and outside my bedroom window, the skies went from blue to very dark gray in a matter of minutes. My colleagues were off to Kroger to shop for food stuff.

I received these Emergency Alerts below. First, the flash flood warning. Then, came two disturbing messages - tornado warnings.
  

I received these messages before
everything else happened.

The tornado came and went. Zero casualty.

My co-scholars came home and told me their tornado stories. 

If only the Philippines, our government and the Filipino race, have all these warnings and attitudes towards disasters then we would have saved thousands of lives and millions of dollars.

Then, it will be a more fun in the Philippines.

The Road to Washington via Athens

by: Evans Yonson (Philippines)

(Note: This article originally appeared on Global Spotlight, Vol 10, Issue II, 2017. Several photos and links have been added below.)

“Congratulations! We are looking forward to seeing you in Washington, DC on July 16,” said the email.

I arrived Athens, Ohio on July 6^th, more than a week before the Facebook Global Digital Challenge in Washington, DC.

With Prof. Yusuf Kalyango, PhD, SUSI2017 Program Director, taken upon my arrival in Columbus, Ohio on July 6th.
(Photo by Franklyn Charles)

While my SUSI colleagues were enjoying Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, communing with the Amish-Mennonites, and visiting the State Hall of Columbus, there I was in hot and humid DC with my students. If only I could teleport between Ohio and DC, I would have done it in a snap.

In July 2016, Facebook, in association with EdVenturePartners, asked if I could gather students and implement a peer-to-peer (P2P) social media campaign in Xavier University (Ateneo de Cagayan).

P2P is a global university initiative being implemented in 160 universities around the world. Over the course of one semester, university teams work to design, pilot, implement and measure the success of a social or digital initiative, product or tool that motivates or empowers other students to become involved in countering violent extremism (CVE).

EdVenture Partners believes that engaging youth in the fight against violent extremism is crucial, and the P2P program offers a creative and exciting way for students around the world to become involved in the effort.

Thus, the birth of I Am Mindanao. I Am Mindanao (IAM) aims to educate college students in Cagayan de Oro City about violent extremism, strengthen their sense of pride as Mindanaoans, and empower them to take part in CVE. When we started the campaign, there were a lot of apprehensions but we were steadfast in our efforts towards peace in Mindanao.

During our first campaign (Fall 2016), we developed original and research-based materials and activities for our online and offline audience such as infographics, videos, online competitions, room-to-room lecture series, a concert, a photo exhibit, and a peace camp. We had a total 15 activities for this term.

Taken during the Peace Camp. (Photo by I Am Mindanao) 

For our second campaign (Spring 2017), we initiated a weekly dialogue with Muslim, Christian and indigenous students. The regular meetings brought more ideas into the campaign. We explored the students’ sense of identity, sense of belongingness, and sense of purpose. This further solidified our campaign’s efforts towards CVE and achieving lasting peace in Mindanao. For this campaign, we had 22 various activities spanning from January to June 2017.

Student volunteers meet to discuss the plans for summer.
(Photo by I Am Mindanao)

On May 23, an ISIS-related group called Maute Group invaded the Islamic City of Marawi (100 kilometers away from Cagayan de Oro).

Two hours after the attack, the IAM Team issued a Statement of Condemnation. The next day, we started a call-to-action initiative, #MealforMarawi. Our target was to raise 200 US dollars to feed 150 internally displaced persons. Help immediately poured in. Before the week was over, we collected close to 2,000 USD.

A post-campaign survey revealed that all 726 respondents are willing to take part in future activities of IAM related to CVE.

Our social media platforms exhibited unbelievable metrics. Our Facebook page has a total of more than 38,000 page likes, 4.5 million impressions. One photo alone was shared more than 100,000 times. Twitter and Instagram have generated more than 3 million impressions.

The I Am Mindanao Team in Washington, DC.
(Photo by I Am Mindanao) 

Bangladesh won the top prize, with Nigeria placing 2^nd, Spain 3^rd, and the Philippines with the fourth place.

“It’s never about winning the top prize in Washington, DC that matters. What matters the most is made an impact in our community. Coming to the US is only the icing of our Mindanao cupcake,” I told my students.