Mardhia’s Life of Resilience: How USAID Supports Disaster-Prone Communities Through the iPrepared Project
Originally Published on the USAID Website
This piece was originally published on USAID's website.
In July 2022, USAID launched the Inclusive Disaster Preparedness for Local Resilience in Areas at High Risk of Natural and Human-Induced Hazards in BARMM, Mindanao – Philippines project, better known as iPrepared, to improve disaster preparedness and resilience in villages like Mardhia’s across Mindanao. The two-year project, implemented by Action Against Hunger, has assisted nearly 117,000 people in Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Sur with managing disaster risks, fostering agriculture initiatives, and creating a market environment where producers and consumers can thrive and benefit.
Through iPrepared, USAID and Action Against Hunger encourage women to take on leadership roles during crises. Mardhia looked forward to taking on a leadership role when the iPrepared program helped set up a community savings group, which allows members to efficiently save and borrow money, and strategically grow their funds so they can later on use it to finance their livelihood needs or as contingency fund during emergencies.
“I have experienced different kinds of disasters since I was sixteen years old, but even now as an old woman, I feel like it’s never too late for me to learn and relearn how we can better prepare,” says Mardhia, a widow from a disaster-prone community in the Municipality of Kapatagan in Lanao Del Sur, Mindanao.
Read more on the USAID website.
About Action Against Hunger in The Philippines
Climate shocks, economic inequality, and conflict drive hunger in the Philippines. An archipelago of over 7,600 islands, this South Asian country is highly vulnerable to frequent natural disasters, such as typhoons and earthquakes. Action Against Hunger is working with local communities to build resilience and prepare for disasters.
About Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 21 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 59 countries, our 8,900 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.
