Surviving Yolanda: Disaster in the Philippines

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How can one community survive from a disaster called the worst to ever hit the country? How can one recover from overwhelming devastation?

Typhoon Yolanda with its Category 5 winds slammed into the islands of Leyte and Samar in Central Philippines last November 8. 2013. The disaster left a path of destruction which flattened both the concrete houses and nipa huts, and left dead bodies in its wake. The storm surge swept away homes and people. Nature gone mad. A poor community was rendered helpless and hopeless.

Right now, the roads are impassable due to debris and collapsed buildings and fallen electric cables. Misery is everywhere. Even as donations pour in and rescue efforts are underway, there are still some survivors sheltering in makeshift structures, bracing for the next storm, even as they mourn for their dead loved ones. A whole family torn apart; sometimes single survivors left to pick up their shattered lives on their own.

The images posted on the intranet are horrific to behold. Thousands of humans and animal lost, properties destroyed ; the once beautiful coastal areas transformed into a wasteland of rubbles and dead people and animals.

A whole community struggles, waiting for food and water from rescue groups unable to reach the isolated areas fast enough. The lack of electric power makes it difficult to communicate on the whereabouts and destinies of the people of Leyte. The fate of some loved ones are uncertain.

There is an outpouring of sympathy from people around the world. And yet, there are some heartless individuals who begrudge the help that the US government had sent to the Philippines and had demanded that monetary aid be redirected to help domestic people first. Self-entitlement and selfishness sometimes rear its ugly heads.

The rest of the caring world can only watch helplessly as heart-wrenching stories of loss are recounted by the survivors. Prompted by desperation, men and women sought out television cameras to plead for help and to connect with loved ones outside of the affected areas, mostly to tearfully announce which family member had passed away. Good or bad news, those who were left behind just wanted to reach out to anyone who may listen.

Filipinos are known for their resilience. The country had been plagued by natural disasters over the years, but its people had always bounced back from the trauma, made stronger by their faith and the optimism for a brighter future.

Could it be that most of the affected victims have been empowered by the harsh realities of life and that they have learned to live in the moment because the thought of thinking far beyond the present is inconceivable? When there's nothing in the horizon, one can only try to treasure the fact that their lives were spared then give thanks for another chance of redemption.

This latest tragedy had shaken us to the core and had rendered the future bleak and unimaginable. But there is no other option but to survive. To just take each day as it comes. To just hold on to the flicker of hope that there is still something worth living for. To just keep the Filipino spirit of resilience, against all odds.

To find something to smile about. To just find the courage to live again.

My heart bleeds for you, Philippines. Be strong.

All I can offer (aside from my donations) is a prayer that our countrymen in the Visayas will pull through yet another tragedy. Mabuhay.












Please donate:
http://www.redcross.org/charitable-donations
https://www.wfp.org/donate/typhoon
http://www.childfund.org/emergency/
http://www.redcross.org.ph/donate
http://www.care.org/emergencies/typhoon-haiyan
https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?df_id=16500&16500.donation=form1

Filipino Global photo- Amidst the destruction around them, these kids still managed to find something to smile about. A testament to the resiliency of children


Thank you, Anderson Cooper, for the brave reporting. You bared the ineffective rescue efforts in the country and incurred the criticisms from those who were offended by the truth. There are lessons to be learned in a disaster; it's just too bad that these lessons came at the expense of the victims.




“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
-Confucius

INC Giving for Hurricane Sandy Victims

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. (Proverbs 3:27)



Nov. 10, 2012- FAR ROCKAWAY, NEW YORK- -

Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc to New York and New Jersey last October 29. In its aftermath, a trail of staggering destruction of lives and properties brought the two states to a grinding halt.

Two weeks later, the recovery efforts were still on-going.

While others had quickly recovered, there were still parts in Long Island, Queens, Staten Island, and New Jersey still without electric power. No heat, no light, no homes; their lives completely unraveled by nature.

Today, November 10, our church, the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) conducted relief efforts in Far Rockaway in Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaway peninsula and had gotten its name from the Native American Munsee language which means “place of sands”.

As with any disaster, there was a pervading atmosphere of gloom and devastation in the Rockaway area. Ruined cars were abandoned on the streets. Litters of debris were piled up in front of damaged houses. The street lights were still unlit. The boardwalk was swept away by the floods and the storm surge brought the coastal homes out to sea.

I got lost on my way to the distribution center in the park and found myself getting a first-hand look of what a disaster leaves behind. Driving through the shell of what once was a vibrant neighborhood, I felt a lump in my throat. So sad to see damaged possessions on the front yards. On the sidewalks was a lifetime of treasured mementoes. Souvenirs of family times, memories reduced to water-soaked photo albums and water-logged furniture.

A burly man came out of one of the houses carrying a box of soiled clothes. I don’t know if it was his home, but he suddenly sat on the sidewalk and just burst into heart-wrenching sobs. He did not see me parked across the street as I tried to fire up my GPS. I wanted desperately to comfort him, but I did not want to intrude on his private moment so I could only listen silently as he tried to compose himself.

But there was also a sense of hope and renewal. FEMA, NYPD, and other emergency personnel went about their tasks in helping the survivors rebuild their homes. And along the way, there were multitudes of make-shift distribution centers for relief goods and clothing, even some food courts in corner stands meant to serve both survivors and volunteers. Random acts of kindness everywhere.

Clean-up helpers tried to change the landscape of ruined homes and properties. Friends, family members and volunteers were sweeping the sand that the water had left behind. In every corner I passed, there was a bunch of people, young and old, cleaning up the streets; most of them not even part of an organized group but just a group of people from out of town armed with mops and brooms. Strangers helping during a time of need.

The spirit of volunteerism is alive and well in New York City. The Church of Christ’s (Iglesia ni Cristo) relief distribution through the Felix Y. Manalo Foundation was an absolute success. It was a massive show of solidarity to a call to help.

The spirit of brotherhood among the church members was evident as everybody pitched in to usher our guests to the tables where the ministers and other brethren distributed the recovery tote bags.

Earlier, some of the members had knocked on doors around the area to notify the neighborhood of the donations. In the end, we even received additional boxes of relief donations from strangers.

It was a reality check for some of the church members to see suffering up close and personal. Far Rockaway was our Katrina. Disasters exposed our vulnerabilities and the poor and the underserved population suffered the most.

I have seen these sufferings in my ER. Our hospital in Brooklyn opened our doors to stranded victims from the calamity who were evacuated from the nursing homes and other hospitals brought down by power outage and flooding. We also received an influx of patients displaced from their homes; even patients who were dependent on medical equipment to survive. I was now in the very area from whence they came.

The victims of Hurricane Sandy still have a long road ahead of them, but they seem to appreciate any little help they got. Their faces lit up as they received the proffered tote bags from the ministers. Perhaps the gifts were just little tokens, but our efforts served its purpose: to show the community that we cared.

In the face of the challenges of their lives forever changed, the survivors cling to the hope that things will be better soon. Their resilience will be put to a test in the coming months.

I coaxed a smile from a three-year old girl who clung tightly to a stuffed toy that we retrieved from one of the boxes. Her older brother watched her while their mother stood patiently in line for diapers. That image is both heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time.





November 22, 2012- TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK CITY-

Photo by Irene-Ayie Sanchez

What a wonderful testimony to God's loving mercy and powerful reach. At the crossroads of the road, in the middle of Times Square, the INC brethren descended to show their generosity, as well as to proclaim their faith.

In a sea of white, the red, white and green flags were raised in pride. This picture sent shivers down my spine. Glory be to God.

"The Philippines-based church's charitable arm, the Felix Y. Manalo Foundation, made a total donation of $150,000 to the New York City Police Foundation, the FDNY Foundation, Bellevue Hospital Center and Coney Island Hospital - all of which were adversely affected by the huge storm." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/philippines-based-megachurch-rallies-in-times-square-for-superstorm-sandy-relief-2012-11-21