Human Rights Online Philippines

AHON (RISE): 10,000 Fishing Boats for 20,000 Fishing Families
By Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources·

Published on Youtube, December 19, 2013

AHON is a rehabilitation initiative to rebuild the lives and livelihoods of fishing communities ravaged by the world’s strongest recorded typhoon, Super Typhoon Haiyan.

The calamity hit one-third or 21 of the 72 provinces in the country, bringing devastation beyond description. Thousands lost their lives, and hundreds of thousands more were left homeless. The most affected sector are the subsistence fishing communities who lost loved ones, homes and means of livelihood — their fishing boats.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is taking this initiative to build a start-up platform for everyone (including individuals, donors, NGOs, and private sector) to collaborate in addressing the immediate needs of affected fishers to get back to work feeding their families and the rest of the country. The Bureau envisions to work with other groups which have likewise initiated similar efforts, such as the “Adopt a Small Island Initiative,” “Yellow Boat of Hope,” and others.

BFAR would like to scale up the building and giving of boats to affected fisherfolk. To jumpstart the “Ahon Initiative,” BFAR has earmarked P50M, a large part of which will be used to build the initial 3000 fishing boats. The Bureau hopes to gather contributions from individuals, donors, civil society and private sector to build an additional 7,000 units in the next 3 months. The contributions may be in kind (boat-building materials) or cash to buy materials and pay for labor costs.

How you can help…
1. Cash contributions for boat materials and labor
2. Contribution of boat-building materials
3. Boat construction
4. Selection of beneficiaries
5. Installation of Shallow-Water Payaos
6. Monitoring and Reporting

For more information:

Visit http://www.facebook.com/Ahon.BFAR

or contact

Office of the Director
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
Telefax No. (02) 454-5863
http://www.bfar.da.gov.ph

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