Team Reports |
The Resiliency of Filipino PeopleLinda Taiabjee — Scarborough, ON
When I saw the devastation of Manila caused by the back-to-back typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng on TV, my heart sank as did the houses, cars, and some lost lives. I ached for mothers and children who had to spend the night and a few days in the elements before help came to take them down from the rooftops. I asked myself, "How did they eat?" As a mother, I know the pain they were undergoing not knowing how to feed their kids. Before I arrived in Manila, I had expectations and pre-conceived notions of what I would find. I expected to see chaos, muddy roads, dirty garbage strewn on sidewalks, parts of what used to be homes, and squatters in even worse conditions. I expected to see sad faces of people who had lost everything: their homes, their cars, some members of their family, and their livelihood. I expected to see anger and hopelessness.
Instead, I saw the opposite. I saw newly-painted churches, clean classrooms, and sidewalks free of debris. There were books arranged outside to dry in the sun but most areas had been or were being cleaned up. In the hotel, the staff wore snowy white uniforms instead of grey. I saw 4,000 smiles and beautiful pairs of eyes for children who were excited to receive their bedkits. We met with the proud SCAW Core Committee who were as happy as always and excited about the bedkits we were about to give to the children. They made so many sacrifices to make this short-notice distribution a reality. The stories that the teachers and volunteers told us were almost unbelievable when one sees the fast recovery and clean-up work they did in such a short time. After all, we were on the scene less than two months after the typhoons hit! Many streets had been power-hosed. Parents got together and dried out and cleaned classrooms so their children could go back to school within two weeks. Filipinos are proud people and they can lift themselves up from calamities. They fight back to regain their normal lives. This is what I saw, a normal country, with less evidence than I expected of the typhoon damage although we could still see the water marks on walls and fences showing how high the flood waters had been. One of the volunteers lost his fleet of cars and could not claim an insurance loss because "losses caused by Acts of God" were not covered by his policy. But, life goes on and the water damage was mostly eradicated.
The locations of our distributions covered the worst-hit areas. These were affected by the waters from dams that were opened to prevent anticipated explosions which would have been brought about by the strong pressure of rushing water and relentless rains that fell for days. Bedkits were distributed in towns along the tributaries of the Pasig River, which runs through the Metro Manila area, including Marikina, Cainta, Pasig, and Marilao Bulacan. The 4,000 bedkits were all that the Core Committee could put together for this emergency distribution on such short notice. But, this work and effort gave smiles and a comfortable night's sleep to 4,000 Filipino children. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the donors who made this distribution possible. Please keep on giving. Your generosity has provided a "Gift of Love" to some very needy children and families. |
