In summer 2013, I spent 3 months volunteering in Calbayog, West Samar, Philippines. I worked for an organzation called Western Samar Development Foundation, which works to assist women and children. My main function was to work with the
children of Balay Consuelo, a shelter for girls ages 6-20 that have endured some form of sexual trauma (rape, assault, trafficking, incest). Those three months changed my life. The young girls of Balay Consuelo taught me about love, resilience, and strength.
Now, it is time for me to help the residents of my beloved Calbayog; a town full of warm, wonderful people with the true Waray spirit. Will you help me?
Though the news has reported on the devastating effects of the typhoon on the island of Leyte, and particularly in the city of Tacloban, very little international attention has been given to the people of Samar. They too were very affected
by the storms; some losing their homes, some losing family members, and others losing their livelihood, with the wipeout of their crops and food sources. Calbayog is still without power and they are struggling to assist those that have sought refuge from
Tacloban. Here is a recent email I received from a friend in Calbayog, explaining the situation:
"Life here is really difficult, considering that we won't have power for 2 months...unfortunately, we have fuel and food shortage here...my family is just really lucky that we harvested rice from our farm
weeks before the typhoon.. it was intended to be sold, but we decided to keep several sacks for our own consumption, which was a good call because food shortage here is now a big problem.. Over a hundred prisoners from Tacloban have also escaped and some of
them are already here.. Last Tuesday, a group of armed bandits caused havoc in the City by creating a tsunami scare, and because we didn't have access to news, everyone (like literally everyone) believed them and fled to the mountains.. The houses that were
vacated were looted by the bandits, and a few people died because of heart attack and the stampede.. My dad and I are doing rounds guarding the house at night, as everyone else here is doing..
My family is very thankful that we finally found our brother, who was in Tacloban during the typhoon.. We didn't know if he was still alive or if he was injured.. We got him back after 4 days of searching.. Our resources we're almost
depleted in rescuing our brother, Because we had to find all the means to get to Tacloban as fast as we could, which was virtually impossible the first few days after the typhoon because of all the downed trees and electricity poles on the highways.. We now
have a problem moving him to a different school because his old college was completely devastated.. He's graduating college this year, so it's really really sad that he has to transfer.. We're still waiting for some of our "privileged" relatives to accept
our request to send my brother to school and to assist us in our needs, and we're hoping that my family could get through this in one piece.. My mom has also applied for an indefinite leave because of this entire situation here, so only me and my sister and
providing for the family.. But we still have high hopes that everything will be better soon.. I'm seeing signs of improvement already.. And the people here are already starting to get used to not having electricity.. It seems normal to us now, after 18 days..
Hahaha! Filipino's are very resilient you know.. Even through all of this, we still find many reasons to smile..."
The last few lines of his email pull at my heartstrings, as Filipinos are indeed the most warm, resilient, and generous individuals I have ever met. Let's help them this holiday season. Will you join me?
