It’s hard to sum it all up but thanks to Winnie the Pooh, I’ll use his and his friends’ words. „You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes” and also, “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” READ the introduction story of how I got to see what I saw through Red Cross in the Philippines HERE.
Typhoon Vinta didn’t really choose. Hitting Mindanao, Philippines in 2017 it caused massive landslides and floods, left 200 people dead and forced nearly 16 000 to evacuate. Children, elderly, healthy or sick, pregnant or not. The most affected ones got a chance to live in temporary tents but it was extremely hot, the crops were affected (meaning the main source of food was basically gone) and due to some factors it took quite a time to build new homes for the beneficiaries.
Some of them were ready to tell us their stories.
The first one you can find HERE. That’s a story of a family who got trapped in the mountains because of the flood and landslides while one of the daughters was about to die at home.
The second story HERE is about a young man who lost his family and who then started to look for the bodies of his beloved ones. Something no one should ever experience in this world. “His grandfather was found – unrecognizable face, only a tattoo on his arm could tell who he was. His aunt was found – covered by debris. His cousin was found as well – naked and blotted. What hurts Flordelito the most is that his sister and grandmother are still missing.”
The third story HERE lets senior beneficiaries describe their emotions and feelings while they were running from the flood, how the bridge collapsed behind them, how their houses were just swiped away.
These are not easy stories to read yet alone to write. But here comes the good news – all these beneficiaries together with other families finally got what they wanted. A brand new home. This is how it all happened:
The most incredible thing about these people were that they were able to put on a smile even before receiving much help. Maintaining positive mindset and hope. Luckily, it lead to a happy ending.
Many thanks to Kiarah Florendo and co from PRC.
