“If the world is out there, send help.’ This was the impassioned plea of one survivor of Typhoon Haiyan – the strongest storm ever to have hit land anywhere in the world.

Of course, this was just one voice among millions in the Philippines, where countless lives have been turned upside down by a disaster that everyone saw coming, but no one could stop - a 300-mile-wide super typhoon that ripped up trees, flattened houses and caused storm swells several metres high. “

As you probably know, the DEC will only launch an appeal when there is a large-scale emergency and only when we are certain that we can help. Now is that time and we are counting on you to support our efforts, just as the people in the Philippines are counting on all of us.