![I am HIP [Helping Islets in the Philippines]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggt7BbLFycq7tDyirBOJ5f6_wHtE4YgVSF422A2znFnDuPJWDKC2LOckdUtP5vN8o6gRMs36Opd7SI-udvquTr3lCOXTQWG6Vkl9cuv_z0KHVuvZuCprXJ51IvuO7fm5k1TIGoxSIEP_I/s1600/Slide1.JPG)
For
Christmas and New Year,
my brothers and I decided to fly to the Philippines, in the aftermath of
November 8th, the day the strongest storm to ever make landfall in
recorded history hit the Philippines with wind speeds of more than 300kph.
Have
you ever held your hand out of a driving car at, let’s say, 100kph? Do it, and
imagine a storm three times stronger.
Yolanda,
as the typhoon is called in the Philippines, lasted for only a couple hours –
enough to cause horrific damage to a nation that has to deal with a good
quarter of its population (approximately 25 million) in poverty, anyways.
Around 14 million people were directly affected by the storm, over four (4)
million people were left homeless (just to give you an understanding for the
proportions: in the entire European Union three million people are estimated to
be homeless), more than six thousand people lost their lives and around a
thousand people are still missing[1].
The
Philippines are an archipelago of about 7000 islands, which makes things very
complicated. For obvious reasons, the major catastrophe relief organizations
such as Red Cross, Islamic Relief, Médecins Sans Frontières, and others have
focused on bigger cities, for example Tacloban. The delivery of relief goods is
less costly, their actions help more people at a time and the organization and
planning becomes much easier when dealing only with one area. Yet, as many
fishing boats were taken by Yolanda, help can’t easily get to the people. Up to
this day, there are thousands of people on small islands in small communities,
that received very less or no help at all from the national or international
agencies.
The pictures shown in the news, the
devastation and the brutal force of nature only became clear to me when my
brothers and I traveled on buses, motorbikes and boats towards one of these
secluded little communities towards our Christmas vacation: Silagon Island.
A
plateau of coral rocks with only a thin layer of soil on top, Silagon is a very
small island that measures around 1.5 kilometers in circumference. Only around
300 people permanently live on the island, while roughly half of them are kids
under the age of 16.
The families make their living from fishing and seaweed farming, the luckier
families get support from their children, who often take jobs in Cebu, the next
major city, as house helpers. In order to go to school, kids have to make their
way to the next island, Bantayan, which is not much of a problem as long as the
tides are right and the boats can take them. Worst days are those when low tide
forces the kids to walk in knee-deep waters, too shallow for boats, or to go
out with the fishermen, pretty much in the middle of the night, just to wait
for hours in front of the schools gates.
The
island of Silagon is not connected to the power grid, thus, when night falls,
the village disappears in darkness. People crawl back into their shelters, most
of them built with pieces of tarpaulin and bamboo, a long day of hard and
continuous work comes to an end - and the next one lays just ahead. With
sunrise everyone is up, working. There is no such thing as a day off, there is
no lazing around, one has to work for bare survival. Drinking and fresh water
has to be imported from the main island, which is costly and inconvenient, thus
rainwater is used for washing and cooking.
A
usual meal consists of rice and fish. The thin layer of soil on corals makes it
almost impossible to plant anything, the few chicken are only good for
Christmas and weddings, too precious for a regular day, we were told. So are
fruits, vegetables, alcohol – simply too expensive. The price for rice has
risen dramatically after the typhoon, the community struggles to appease their
hunger. One single apple, for example, is just as expensive as half a kilo of
rice – obviously the kids rarely ever got to eat a whole apple. On the other
hand, candies and sweets are super cheap. The color of the kids’ hair and eyes
attests the serious lack of nutrition, their appearance reveals the high prices
for food, and from their teeth you knew that they rarely brush their teeth,
because they simply didn’t have any. But - and I tell you this is something I
haven’t realized before - their smiles prove how happy life can be, even in the
worst of all conditions.
I
am HIP!
I am “Helping Islets in the
Philippines”
is the project my brothers and I supported in the Philippines. The outstanding
organization by its founder and soul – Kareen “Kakay” Oloroso – is what makes
this project a real success. With more than fifteen years of experience in
community work and volunteering, she definitely knows what she is doing and she
does it really well.
In
the first phase of the project, the mission was organize a collective Christmas
party and to distribute school materials as well as relief goods to the
families. From donations and funds raised through a sale of T-shirts, the
project was able to give away rice, blankets, toothbrushes, soap and other
sanitary products, cups and bags to every household, according to their
individual needs. For the Christmas party, HIP funded foodstuffs, which were
then prepared by the women in the community for a phenomenal feast, and the
volunteers set up the program for the night, rehearsing songs with the kids.
The night turned out to be a great success and the kids, as well as the elderly
enjoyed themselves on this special night. This Christmas, according to the
community, is the best Christmas that they ever had in spite of the situation
that they are in.
The following days, one by one the volunteers leave the
The
daycare is one of only very few buildings made of brick and, luckily located in
a sheltered spot on the island, the walls didn’t tumble as it did in most of
the other brick-made houses on the island. Yet, the entire roof, major parts of
the fence surrounding the property, and an outside shelter were blown away,
while loads of trash and fallen trees covered the area.
With HIP funds, we
bought tools and working materials to start the reconstruction of the building.
Ever
since the first day at work, we had the entire community of Silagon supporting
us. Women helped to clear the area and brought us water and food, men helped us
building, as well as with the planning on how to make the construction as
stable and long-lasting as possible. For me, the way everyone supported us was
something I never experienced before – families, that don’t have kids who
attend the daycare, people who live in provisionary shelters and fathers of
families who went fishing even before I woke up in the morning to make their
living, volunteered to help us day in, day out.
Only
their support made it possible to rebuild the daycare, and only with their
expertise and willpower we managed to turn it into one of the most solid houses
on the island, that can hopefully withstand the next typhoons (as they will
come for sure).
All
tools remained on the island as communal property, so that the families can,
slowly but surely, rebuild their houses.
Ever since I left the Philippines, my
thoughts remained with the people I’ve met there, with the kids and their
parents, and the daily struggle to satisfy the most basic needs in life.
One
of the kids told us one day, that after he lost his older brother during the
storm, the thing he wished for most was a “new big brother” – asking us to
stay.
I
definitely plan to go back; there is so much that can be done, and so much joy
and ease can be brought to their lives.
Financial
support
is always a good way to help, since money rules the world after all. In my
opinion, the following organizations are worth looking into for donations, but
do your research and find the organization that suits you and your idea of
disaster relief and development aid.
o
Support our efforts to fund
chainsaws, in order to provide construction material!! (In
cooperation with “Managers without Borders” and “HIP”)
Volunteer! Yes, many of the big
Organizations such as Red Cross only accept disaster-relief trained people.
Yet, there are many smaller organizations that are constantly looking for
helping hands. Some provide support for flights and care for accommodation.
Do it
yourself! Why
not set up your own Project, raise funds from your family and friends, come up
with a concept and get it done! I believe that whatever you have studied or
learned there is something you can help with, whether its architecture,
psychology, engineering or medicine. Just do it!
Spread the Word! Let’s make more
people aware of the situation! Let’s make sure people know what is happening on
this planet and try to convince as many people as possible to spend a thought
on it. Share this report, tell your friends, post your comment. Let’s make it
happen!
If you want to learn more, get in touch: unibarth@gmail.com
If you want to learn more, get in touch: unibarth@gmail.com
[1] Based
on the 6 March 2014 report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management
Council of the Philippines. http://www.ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/1125/doc03398020140306095153.pdf
Written by Bennet Barth
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