February 13, 2014

David Beckham Meets Philippine Typhoon Victims - Sky News

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David Beckham has visited hundreds of people who lost their homes after a typhoon in the Philippines.

The former footballer travelled to the devastated city of Tacloban where he spent time with children in a tent being used as a makeshift classroom .

The central city is still struggling to deal with the impact of Typhoon Haiyan, which struck on November 8, killing more than 6,200 people and leaving tens of thousands of survivors still homeless.

Zafrin Chowdhury, spokeswoman for the Unicef office in Manila, said Beckham was touched by the typhoon's impact and wanted to meet displaced children and their families.

Everyone wanted to meet the star when he arrived

Beckham exchanged high-fives and posed for pictures with children as they showed him their art works.

He removed his shoes on entering a tent where a family has been living, stroking a sleeping infant's hands as he spoke with family members.

It is Beckham's second trip to the Philippines as a Unicef goodwill ambassador.

He visited a shelter for former street children in Manila during his first visit in 2011 and also played an exhibition game with the Philippine national football team.

"He felt very touched by what happened and that he wanted to come back, not do anything else - no meeting, no media - just to focus on children and meet them, encourage them and see for himself the situation," Ms Chowdhury said.