Welcome Back Tim Miller

Answering a call to lead typhoon Haiyan destruction recovery, Tim Miller, provided a comprehensive summary of his professional and personal assignment in Cebu, Mindanao, Philippines.  For over a year, Tim, spouse Lara, and son Ari left their comfort zones in Santa Rosa and made their home in the heavily damaged seaside area.
 
No stranger to disaster preparedness, as Red Cross Emergency Services Director in Santa Rosa, Tim hit the ground running, tasked with organizing and monitoring health and sanitation development in the first phase of relief.  Following the loss of 6,300 lives and hundreds of thousands homeless, Tim’s new employer, Lutheran World Relief, partnered with Habitat for Humanity in rebuilding homes and with another local group produced concrete toilets, an essential utility in improved sanitation, often absent in pre-disaster neighborhoods.
 
An additional principal to the relief model was creating sustainable, resilient economic activities.  Toward this goal, Tim helped establish Milkfish hatcheries, replant denuded coconut orchards, introduce agricultural sprayers and pumps and move beyond a mono-crop dependency.  Protective cropping (covering of young, immature plants) added to economic diversity.  Risk Reduction assessment resulted in safer neighborhood locations, impending alert systems and civic awareness.
 
Lara applied her humanitarian values in establishing a cooperative relationship between a local orphanage and the nearby 5-Star Resort to redistribute unconsumed food at the orphanage.  Son Ari participated at a Model United Nations Youth Assembly in South Korea.
 
Decades ago, Tim served as a Peace Corp Volunteer in the Philippines.  Between then and now he observed a growing middle class, and noted that a significant sector of the country’s opportunity is in Call Centers.  Attractive wages, $5-$6/hour is very good.  Combined with many people abroad sending money back to the Philippines, the nation’s ranking as Asia’s second fastest growing economy is remarkable.
 
From karaoke and yo-yo’s to crop diversity and more toilets, Cebu, Mindanao and the Philippines are continuing on a course to a better quality of life.  Tim, Lara and Ari Miller have built more than a few new steps forward.
 
Welcome Back Millers!!