Media CenterAmid the Ruins of Haiyan, a Kitten Connects Us

In early November, as Super Typhoon Haiyan barreled toward the Philippines, CRS staff in the Philippines and around the globe started mobilizing an emergency response in anticipation of widespread destruction and immense needs. Among them was Jennifer Hardy, CRS' Regional Information Officer for Asia, who arrived just days after the typhoon made landfall to assist with the response, tell the story of those affected by the storm and document CRS' response.

There is no escaping the destruction. I came here with colleagues from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to help. We have joined those who lost their homes, living in an evacuation center at the Catholic cathedral here as Palo is the seat of the archdiocese. The storm nearly destroyed the roof so many of the 250 people living here camp out along the walls where there is a bit of protection overhead from the heavy rains that arrive most days. A dozen of us from CRS have moved into the bishop's office. We have a roof, but we still set up our tents to keep the mosquitoes out," she recently wrote for the Huffington Post.

Read her full reflection in the Huffington Post of what life is like in Palo, a town on the eastern coast of the Philippine island of Leyte, where thousands of people lost their homes.