Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines islands of Samal, Leyte, and Cebu particularly hard. A combined death and missing toll of 7,900 people was recorded and 35 million people were forced from their homes. Of these 35 million, 2 million entered emergency relief housing while the remaining 33 million citizens took shelter along roadsides, in structural unsound buildings, and small make-shift shacks.

The three organizations behind this project, NCS, Fuji Women's University, and the University of San Carlos have established these three goals:

1. Improvement of the living environment for temporary housing (Daanbantayan City, Cebu Island)

2.Reconstruction of local schools (Tacloban City, Leyte Island)

3. Repair and reconstruction of religious buildings (Loboc City, Bohol Island)

While our partner organizations have been working to build more temporary housing, we are moving forward with the church and school portion of our relief efforts. In imagining these two spaces, we hope that they serve double functions; firstly as spaces for religious and educational exploration, respectively, and secondly, as community gathering spaces. Additionally, by meeting with community members to tailor our designs to their environmental and cultural needs and using locally available materials, we hope to have a positive impact on the local environment and atmosphere for learning through infrastructural improvements. The design process will also engage local experts, as we exchange our methods and their techniques, increasing employment opportunities in the area. Lastly, we look to lead workshops for local residents, volunteers, and students to complete the actual construction of the schools and/or church.

The three phases of investigation/survey, design, and construction frame our plans for the project.

Our initial survey of the surrounding area was completed from January 26th-29th of 2014. Our first task as part of the survey was to research local materials and resources. We will assess their potential for use in the school and/or church by consulting local citizens. While there, we were also able to meet and strengthen our ties with our partner organization, the University of San Carlos who will be continuing the investigation into local environmental conditions and the extent of damage caused by the earthquake and typhoon.

Depending on the materials we find suitable for the project, we hope to design the buildings to entail simple construction methods. This will allow residents and volunteers with little building experience to contribute to construction, keeping costs at a minimum when paired with the use of locally available materials.

The devastation felt by the victims in the Philippines, we believe, is similar to the sense of loss experienced by those in the Tohoku region of Japan when the Great East Japan Earthquake and ensuing tsunami struck in 2011. Our involvement in reconstruction efforts in the Tohoku region has highlighted the need for community gathering spaces, especially after a disaster. Among the many buildings destroyed on Leyte and Bohol Islands, we hope to repair and reconstruct schools and churches because of their significance as community spaces. We believe that construction workshops will not only make possible the cost-effective construction of schools and churches for local residents, but that building together will also spawn new ties in the town. The more citizens are involved, the more impactful we envision this project to be, not only on the built environment, but also on the learning environment and relationships within the community.