MANILA, Philippines—Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Philippines have launched a major disaster relief project to repair and rebuild homes that were damaged or destroyed by Super Typhoon Nock-Ten (locally named “Nina”).

On December 25, 2016, Nock-Ten, a Category 4 typhoon, struck the country’s Bicol region, causing widespread devastation. According to reports, the storm killed 10 people and damaged over 390,000 buildings. Although no Jehovah’s Witnesses in the area were killed or seriously injured, over 300 homes of Witnesses and 24 of their meeting places (called Kingdom Halls) were damaged or completely destroyed. The branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Philippines formed a disaster relief committee based in Naga City to help the affected Witness families.

“Thus far, our volunteers have assisted with the relief work on 271 houses of our fellow worshippers and have repaired 22 Kingdom Halls. Our relief construction teams will continue to assist with the work on the remaining 38 homes and 2 Kingdom Halls with the goal of finishing by the end of April 2017,” said Dean Jacek, a spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Philippines.

The worldwide work of Jehovah’s Witnesses, including disaster relief, is facilitated by their Governing Body and supported by voluntary donations. Of the more than 8 million Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide, over 209,000 believers are in the Philippines.

Media Contacts:

International: David A. Semonian, Office of Public Information, +1-845-524-3000

Philippines: Dean Jacek, +63-2-224-4444