First Look at the Super-Typhoon Haiyan Disaster Site: Tacloban and Tanauan

Gabe Mercado and our teammates -- Bing, Celene, Dingdong, Sander and I -- left for the Manila airport at 1:45A on Friday, February 28, 2014.  Bing was an important part of team, because he spoke the local language - Wahri.  There are at least 120 languages in the Philippines.  Filipino is the official language, which is the Tagalong language spoken in Manila.  English is another official language.  Many Manila citizens use English no problem.  Outside of Manila, my experience is more people understand English than can speak it.

Cebu Pacific Air donated six airline tickets for our Heroic Improvisation team.  There were no direct flights to the affected area.  We flew to Cebu from Manila and then transfered to Tacloban flight, which took us to the island and province of Leyte, Philippines. 

Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the island of Leyte.  We were to do three workshops with over 50 disaster survivors in Tacloban and Tanauan over two days.

Our team mostly slept in the airport and on the plane, so we would be ready for our first workshop in at an elementary school in Tanauan - 10 km north of Tacloban. Our JCI Makati Princess Urduja Chapter Coordinators - a team of 5 young women entrepreneurs from Manila - picked us up from the Tacloban airport in a van with a driver.  That airport still looks like a disaster zone.  There is a roof and the rest of the terminal has been blown out.  There are blue tarps as walls now.  This keeps the dust flying onto waiting passengers when jets take off.  There is a significant military presence at the airport and lots of ruins of cars, shanties, water towers, etc.

We went directly to a breakfast buffet at the nicest hotel left in Tacloban  - Hotel Alejandro.  It also serves as the informal headquarters of the UN effort here.  http://alejandro.tacloban.biz/  We cooled down in air conditioning while we had our breakfast.  At 9AM, we were off in the van again for the 10 km drive to Tanauan.  Our first stop was the Tanauan Mayor’s office to be officially greeted.  We received Certificates of Appreciation signed by the Mayor and ribbon necklace with a sunflower and seal of the city from uniformed staff.  More about Tanauan here:  http://www.tanauancity.gov.ph/

Then we got to the local school (Tanauan II Central School), where we were greeted by about 120 school children, grades K - 6.  The single story school building was damaged by the storm.  There were no windows and the roof was recently repaired.  Three school children drowned in the building during the storm surge from the Super-Typhoon.

Most of the children were living with their parents in a tent city on the school grounds.  The tents were white UN tents with side ventilation and they sure did seem hot.  The tent city residents were using the water from the school for cooking and washing.  It was a quiet orderly place.  Someone already planted some flowers, so the place looked pretty.  Since the school had good drinking water, the kids’ had their labelled toothbrushes there.  A bittersweet image.  All the kids were clean, well-dressed and well-behaved.  I was impressed because there was over 150 school kids and they were sitting quietly in the school in the heat.

Our JCI partners presented the students with backpacks of simple school supplies:  paper, pens, notebooks.  These kids lost everything, so the supplies were welcome.  The parents take turns cooking lunch for the kids, mostly rice and vegetables.

As guests, we were treated to the best food available.  This part of the Philippines is famous for roast pig, so we got that....still on the spit.  The only time I saw Filipinos agressive was tearing into the pigskin to eat it.  Plus, there was a special noodle dish only served for special occasions, like birthdays.  We actually sang “Happy Birthday” to no one in particular, because it felt like a party with the food so special.

Here is All You Need to Know About the Philippines and Disaster: They Call the Super-Typhoon Yolanda

In the Philippines, Super-Typhoon Haiyan is known as Super-Typhoon Yolanda.  The South East Asia regional naming convention called it Haiyan.  However, the local Philippines naming convention called it Yolanda.  (More here:  http://firstperson.oxfamamerica.org/2013/11/typhoon-who-how-yolanda-became-haiyan/)

Think about that for a minute.  The Philippines had so many typhoon in the 2013 season that they almost ran out of the alphabet, since they were already at the letter “Y”.

The Philippines is very disaster-prone:  typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and landslides.  The Filipino people are experienced and resilient in the face of all these natural hazards.

Amazingly, the Philippines is the perfect place to pilot the Heroic Improvisation process to the variety of communities here.  I wonder if the Philippines can be a good testing ground for other new disaster response techniques and technologies?

Inspired by a 21st Century Politician: Meeting with the Youngest Filipino Senator - Bam Aquino

Gabe Mercado was fascinated with my former work with FEMA Corps -- the American national service program for 18-24 year olds  -- devoted to disaster survivors.  Inspired by the FEMA Corps example, Gabe sent an email to the Philippines newest and youngest Senator - Bam Aquino  - and requested a meeting for us to talk about youth service to disaster survivors.  

On Thursday afternoon, February 27, 2014, Sen. Aqunio agreed to meet with Gabe, Katy Mixner and I to discuss youth initiatives in disaster response and preparedness at his satellite office in Manila.  It is a former art gallery and looks it.  Large windows, open floor plan, captain’s stairway to the upper loft floor -- it is a cool space for a cool dude.

At 36 years old, Sen. Aqunio is right out of central casting as a young, hip, grounded, accessible legislator.  If this is what the next generation politician looks like, we are all in for a bright future!  Sen. Aquino has been a youth entrepreneur his whole life.  

For more info, go to: Bam Aquino Official Senate Website

Sen. Aqunio also told stories of Super-Typhoon Haiyan survivors that he witness after visiting the area.  He reported that Tacolban’s market was up and running after 4 weeks.  This is in comparison to markets returning in 18 weeks after the Aceh tsunami and 3 months after the Haiti earthquake.

He was amazed that the market had pork for sale.  (Pork is beloved in Filipino cuisine, especially in this region.)  The senator asked:  “How did you get pork to sell so quickly?”  The seller simply explained, “Pigs swim.” 

Sen. Aqunio told us inspiring stories of youth groups helping their communities get prepared for disaster.  One group took on teaching all young people in their community how to swim.  A simple idea with life-saving impacts.  Another group met with each small town in their region to discuss disaster preparedness.  A third group did emergency response themselves in their rural region.  They used an old-fashioned two-way radio and purchased their own vehicle and equipment to respond to first aid requests and fires.   

Sen. Aqunio was interested in the FEMA Corps concept and how service work can lead to innovation in a disaster.  He also told us of a youth in disaster response summit that his staff is planning for Fall 2014.  Heroic Improvisation would be a perfect fit for the training portion of the summit, so stay tuned for that. Sweet!

216 Filipino Citizens Ready for the Unimaginable thanks to the Heroic Improvisation Pilot!

Enabled by our sponsors from the Applied Improvisation Network, theater artists in the Philippines and other generous international donors, our Heroic Improvisation team in the Philippines has done mighty work to bring this workshop to Filipino citizens and emergency responders.  

In just over two weeks, our team has piloted this workshop with 12 groups in four regions of the Philippines.   We have had 216 Filipino participants complete the training, ranging in age from 10 to 70 years old.  After testing the workshop with 3 groups of trainers and improvisors, we have taken it to:

• 4 groups of employees (airline, conference center, and school), 
• 3 groups of disaster survivors 
• 1 group of emergency responders and 
• 1 indiginious tribe.

Our team of four facilitators and two facilitators-in-training have validated the Heroic Improvisation process by delivering the workshop in English, Tagalog and Wahri.  We have tested 4 different versions of the workshop for:

• Citizens
• Staff teams
• Disaster survivors (groups less than 16 people) and
• Disaster survivors (groups more than 16 people).

To run the pilot process, we used the principles of the Heroic Improvisation process: Alert, Ready, Connect, Focus, Move.  Because we did 12 runs in 15 days, the workshop improved quickly as we rapidly prototyped it.  Each run was fresh because Gabe Mercado and Dingdong Rosales would adapt our delivery depending on the needs of the Filipino participants in the room.  

The ability of the Heroic Improvisation team to adapt was put to good use when we brought our workshop to Typhoon Haiyan survivors in Tanauan and Tacolban in the Leyte region of the Philippines.  After just over 100 days since the November 2013 landfall of Typhoon Haiyan, the disaster was fresh in the minds of participants when we started the workshops in February 28 - March 1, 2014.  The workshop focused on how to view their recent experience through a heroic lens and self-assess how ready they would be for the next disaster.  At the start of the workshop, participants rated themselves as not very ready for the next one.  At the end of the workshop, participants were amazed at how they transformed their perception of readiness from low to very high.  They also felt empowered to be a leader and follower to respond to the next disaster together.

Q: What Do You Do in the First 5 Minutes of Disaster? A: Heroic Improvisation has the Answer!

For the first time, Gabe and I did two workshops in one day.  We did two employee groups of a regional Filipino airline.  (They also donated six airline tickets for our team to go to the Super-Typhoon Haiyan disaster site February 28 - March 2.)

The morning group was mixed group of senior leaders and front-line staff.  This airline has a safety culture and is used to having protocols for every situation.  We needed to shake it up a bit for them.  Therefore, Gabe emphasized our workshop focused on responding to the first five minutes of an unimaginable event that was outside of protocols or  “off-script”.

The group was uncomfortable with the “off-script” concept, which was perfect for the goals of our workshop.  We need to take people out of their comfort zones to use their imaginations powerfully.

We had the group rate its response to our opening scenario on a scale from 1low - 10 high.   They rated themselves low for surviving the scenario and a little higher for working as a group.  Our workshop demonstrated that standing around brainstorming is not the best response for an unimaginable situation.   During the opening scenario, the group shared feelings like:  being silly, scared, and waiting for a leader.  Towards the end of the workshop, the group got better at moving into action despite feeling uncomfortable and practicing fluid leadership -- regardless of current work assignment.

Then we went to lunch, where were joined by one of the airline’s senior leader and our newest Heroic Improvisation facilitator recruit.  Katy Mixter is a American who has come to the Philippines to volunteer in community building and disaster preparedness.  She is working on a variety of projects during her three-month stint, which ends April 30th.  Katy is working with Galwad Kalinga http://www.gk1world.com/.  Along with facilitating the Heroic Improvisation workshop, Katy will help me develop and edit the facilitator guides.

The afternoon group from the airlines was different than the morning group.  This group had the emergency response team and front-line staff.  Their natural action orientation got them up and moving quickly, so their experience of the workshop flowed more easily.  They did well in our opening scenario and also improved their response as a group in our closing scenario.

I learned that an ingrained team culture can be a vice when responding to an unimaginable event together.  The legacies of the team and established hierarchies can limit a creative response.  By using the power of imagination, we were able to give these employee groups a fresh view of how they can work together in the moment instead of relying on stale protocols that don’t apply to a unique disaster situation.

Chatting about Heroic Improvisation on National Filipino TV!

On Wednesday, February 26, Gabe Mercado got us a spot on the top morning show in the Philippines:  Mornings @ ANC.  It is in English and it is live TV.

Gabe was so low-key about it, that I thought this segment would be taped and would be possibly not be aired.  I found out it was live while we were at breakfast in advance of the show.

Why be nervous now?  I was with Gabe who has done this hundreds of times (he has a TV show here) and we are talking about something we love.

This is our hook:  In a world of unimaginable events, we use theater improvisation to get citizens to practice for disaster.  And it is fun!  I used this as a mantra and a prayer as I was getting my hair and makeup done...whew!

We had a 15-minute slot with the morning host Pablo.  During the commercial break, the host joked about my name and then was very seriously interested in what we were doing.

Gabe had some great images and videos of our training at Forest Club that were run during the spot.  And we had a great conversation about the project.  The time went very fast.

Right after, Gabe went on national radio (in the same building) to talk about Heroic Improvisation in Tagalog.  I was able to sit in on the interview with the female and male host team.  Of course, there was a snack to share at the commercial break.  Filipinos are constantly feeding me!

I haven’t been able to get the video on-line yet.  When I find it, I will post it!

Imagination and Fluid Leadership: A Powerful Concept for First Responders

On Tuesday, March 25th, our Heroic Improvisation team (Gabe, Dingdong, Ariel and I) did our first run of the Level 2 workshop -- focusing on Spontaneous Team building.

I have run the Level 2 workshop in the US with national service volunteers.  But this time, we had the privilege of running the workshop for seasoned firefighters and police officers in the Subic Bay area.  These emergency responders are well-known in the Philippines to be the best emergency rescuers in the country.


See more at: http://www.mysubicbay.com.ph/news/2013/10/21/sbma-rescue-team-wins-2013-gawad-kalasag

We wanted to give these well-trained first responders a different training experience.  So we engaged their imaginations right away.  We had them respond in 5 minutes to a fictional, unimaginable event - right out of a Hollywood script.

It was amazing to see two groups firefighters and police work together to shelter in place quickly.   I haven't seen a championship athletic team come together so quickly for a common purpose.

I knew that imagination was a good resource for disaster practice.  And I was still blown away at how powerful imagination was for experienced professionals.  Using their imaginations, the participants played hard and played for real.   Therefore, they were able to respond to an unimaginable experience right on the spot.

During the workshop, we put them through a more difficult improvisation exercises, since all of them had deep experiences in working as a team in crisis situations.  And still we could challenge them with the exercises.

The biggest insight that the first responders described for themselves was the idea of fluid leadership.  In the workshop, we demonstrate this with a mirroring exercise in pairs.  We have the participants face each other and alternate leading the movement.  They start with their eyes open, with one leader designated at a time.  Later, we have the partners alternate quickly, until there is no obvious leader or follower -- they are just in the flow.  The final part is for the participants to close their eyes.  The miracle is when the facilitators asks participants to stop and open their eyes -- most are exactly mirroring each other.  Those pairs that are not exactly mirroring have complementary movements.  It is a powerful demonstration of fluid leadership.

We challenged them with a more complex exercise.  All thirty were scattered in the room.  Then we gave them the instruction that only one person could walk.  When another person had the impulse to walk, the first walker stops.  Therefore, all have to have a hard focus on who is walking and a soft focus on who might move next.  It was amazing to see how smoothly it worked with this group.

Then we moved into two people moving.  The complexity increases dramatically with two walkers because there is double the amount of action to watch.  Eventually, the group gets into a rhythm that is responsive to the moment.  It is not a dance. Yet to watch this movement feels like the group practiced their moves well in advance of the moment.

Our workshop was so well received by the responders, that a high-level emergency responder leader said he was willing to devote his weekend to bring Heroic Improvisation to schools in the area.  This leader's interest in Heroic Improvisation is a true testament to the ability of the workshop to harness imagination to help people get ready for disaster!