Aurora Almendral
Aurora Almendral is a freelance reporter and radio producer based in Manila and New York.
Sri Lanka remains wary of more attacks, but churches begin to rebuild
One week after the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, authorities warn that extremists may be planning more attacks, while religious sites are starting to rebuild from the destruction.
Muslims in Sri Lanka say they feel targeted after bombings
When half a million drug users surrendered in the Philippines, authorities sent some of them to Zumba
The war on drugs in the Philippines is leaving hundreds dead in the streets
A Catholic monk in the Philippines defies his church to help people with HIV
The Philippines largely escaped the global AIDS epidemic in the 80s and 90s. But now it has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world.
Philippines project turns 'ghost' fishing nets into carpets
Abandoned fishing nets destroy ecosystems and the livelihoods of fishermen around the world. Now a network of nonprofits is partnering with a for-profit company to recover some of these "ghost nets"in the Philippines and elsewhere and recycle them into carpeting.
Filipino Catholics welcome Pope Francis with fervency, hope and souvenir T-shirts
When Pope Francis holds a Catholic Mass in Manila this weekend, he's expected to draw up to six million people. But there are conflicting hopes and expectations for what he'll say to Asia's most populous Catholic country.
A year later, communities are still suffering from Typhoon Haiyan
Typhoon Haiyan caused more damage than the Haiti earthquake or the Indonesian tsunami, displacing 4.1 million people and killing more than 6,300 people in the Philippines. Now a year later, there's still plenty of work to do for the government and international aid agencies.
Why contraception might be a way out of poverty for Filipino families
The Philippines has one of the highest birth rates in Asia. But recently, the government passed a law, over the strenuous objections of the Catholic Church, that paved the way for providing free contraception. Reporter Aurora Almendral speaks with one woman, a grandmother at 33, about how free birth control could change the lives of the country's poorest.
In typhoon-hit Tacloban, some families have moved into the local prison
An unusual scene is playing out on the grounds of the Leyte Provincial Prison in Tacloban — families are living there.
An American and his dog help bring closure to survivors of Typhoon Haiyan
Months after the typhoon that devastated Tacloban in the Philippines, many people are still missing. An American team of trainers and their dogs are helping sniff out human remains — even those underwater — to help the survivors move on after the tragic storm.
Typhoon Haiyan felled this man's trees and uprooted his life
When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines last November, it wiped out an estimated 33 million coconut palms. Now one coconut farmer is trying to salvage a living from his dead trees and buy himself time to regrow his crop.
Filipinos made homeless by Typhoon Haiyan struggle with where to rebuild
When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, it displaced thousands of impoverished families. Now, one local leader is asking where his people will go?
After Haiyan, Filipinos try to rebuild a cherished local link in the retail chain
In the Philippines, sari-sari stores serve as neighborhood anchors —a combination of convenience store and stand-up pub. Now, nearly two months after the typhoon, Filipinos are trying to revive these small, but important shops.