FROM ONDOY TO PEPENG: MORE CHILDREN REACHED, MORE WORK DONE

parents of children studying in OBELC recieved relief goods from TFCS

Barely two week after tropical storm Ondoy came the super typhoon Pepeng.  The TFCS members barely had time to relax after grueling days of repacking, relief distribution and clean up.  Relief goods continue to pour, thanks to you, as we gear towards the rehabilitation phase.

• Relief Operations:

Relief of operations for Ondoy victims in Sitio Olandes, Marikina City were concentrated to 50 families of the Samahan para sa Maagang Pagkatuto ng mga Bata (SMPB) who were also parents of the pre-schoolers enrolled in the Olandes Batibot Early Learning Center.  Complete relief packs of rice, canned goods, noodles, water, biscuits, toiletries, candles and matches were distributed twice a week for two weeks to assist the families as they start rebuilding their homes.

A total of 300 relief packs were also distributed to other areas in Marikina City (Malanday, Tumana and Nangka) through the Gabriela Women’s Party.

We are also preparing relief packs for distribution in Ilocos and La Union for distribution by the CRC-Ilocos Outreach Program.  A team from the TFCS will join the relief and psycho-social efforts of the CRC in Ilocos on October 23.

The next set of relief packs will be brought to Central Luzon for the victims of Pepeng.

• Temporary shelter

After two weeks, the children and their families staying in the office returned to their homes as classes in public schools in Marikina were set to start.  Currently, only the families of the staff and teachers of the OBELC are staying in CRC pending the completion of the clean up of their homes.

• Clean up:

Volunteers and staff clean the schools premises

The clean up team finished the final mopping up of the OBELC after a week and went on to help the teachers and the staff members in their homes.  By the end of last week, a total of 5 households excluding the OBELC were assisted in the clean up.

The Community of Learners Foundation (COLF) helped in the clean up of OBELC by bringing to their school for washing all the salvaged materials.  The materials are set to be returned next week before the classes in the day care center starts.

Fortunately, water has been restored in the community and electricity in some parts has been reconnected.  Unfortunately, the area where OBELC is located remains in electricity-less.

• Psycho-social Processing

The children who underwent psycho-social processing in CRC made a trip to the community at the last day of their session.  The Olandes community is relatively back to normal except for some areas where there are still mounds of garbage, flooding and no electricity.

One of the children, Ana, was almost in tears when she saw that their house was destroyed by the typhoon ( http://pinoyweekly.org/new/children-traumatized-ondoy/2/).  While Ana stayed in CRC, the rest of her family chose to stay in their neighbor’s house and start the repairs.

A father warmly welcomes his daughter home after a week of temporary shelter in CRC’s office.

The common realization of the children was while they were sad that only a few of their things were salvageable, they were grateful to be alive and safe.

After winding up the Olandes relief efforts, the TFCS through the documentation team went to the other affected areas.  A member of the Task Force, the Concerned Mothers’ League, facilitated the visit to Sitio Talanay, Bgy. Batasan Hills and Sitio Binhi ni Abraham, Bgy. Bagong Silangan in Quezon City.

The visit to the two areas provided an insight on how devastated the other areas were.  The team visited the Busilak Day Care Center in Area B, Sitio Talanay, which was nearly swallowed up by the nearby creek.  Like OBELC, all the things in the school were washed out.  The wooden structure, having been submerged in more than 6 feet of flood currents, is now unstable.

Also in Sitio Talanay were the families living under the nearby San Mateo Bridge, who evacuated before the river overflowed.  About 39 families, with 104 children are now living in the basketball court.  The future of these families is now uncertain since the government has prevented them from returning to their homes under the bridge.  They are now petitioning the government for decent and humane relocation for them.

Members of the Task Force Children of the Storm documentation team visited the Busilak Learning Center and interviewed resident of Sitio Talanay.

The situation in Bgy. Bagong Silangan was worse.  The basketball court and the Parish Church housed hundrerds of displaced families from several affected sitios.  One of the sitios most affected was Sitio Binhi ni Abraham.  The TFCS documentation team witnessed how the area was devastated by the raging flood.  Almost all of the houses in the area were destroyed, in some, only the toilets are left upright.  We were also shown what we know call the “Tree of Life”, the

"Tree of Life"

Dita tree where 7 families (34 individuals) sought refuge during the flood and were saved from the raging flood waters.

The surviving residents, who were surveying their homes for repairs, talked of how they climbed from roof to roof seeking higher grounds.  They recounted how they rescued a 2 month old baby on floating aluminum roofing.   They also told us how they saw their neighbors being carried by the current, whose dead bodies were found the next day in the next Sitio.  They also told us how they found the dead residents several days after, with rescuers and neighbors almost stepping on the bodies buried in mud and garbage.

The team also did initial interview on a few mothers who ventured to go back to their homes, on the effects of the disaster to their children.  The mothers observed that children, particularly the younger ones, wake up at night crying and flailing their arms as if drowning.  Some children have problems sleeping while others are afraid of water.

For the next weeks, the psycho-social team will implement their module on psycho-social first aid for the children-victims of disaster in the evacuation centers of Sitio Talanay and Bgy. Bagong Silangan.  A minimum of 50 children is initially targeted in Sitio Talanay and a minimum of 100 children for Bgy. Bagong Silangan.

• Volunteer-mobilization

Para-teachers from Center for Lumad Advocacy and Services (CLANS) in Sarangani Province in Mindanao, volunteer to repack relief goods for Central and Northern Luzon.

As classes resumed after a week, student volunteers were only available during their free time.  Several individual students sustained their volunteer work on weekends.

Day care teachers from the Konkokyo Peace Advocacy Center (KPAC), another member of the TFCS joined for the repacking of the relief goods.  A day care center in Cebu, the Child Learning Program, a member of the KPAC network sent 5 sacks of clothes through PAL Foundation.

A group of visiting day care teachers from the Center for Lumad Advocacy and Services (CLANS) in Sarangani Province, a network of ARCSEA, who were scheduled for “lakbay aral” integration in the OBELC, instead decided to help in the repacking of relief goods.

The tasks ahead

The medical mission in Olandes has not taken place for lack of medical professionals and medicines.  Many children and adults have already fallen ill due to leptospirosis and dengue.  Many residents also suffered from skin diseases such as alipunga (athlete’s foot) and eczema.  Hopefully the medical mission can take place by the end of October.

Residents in flooded areas suffer from wounds in their feet due to exposure in floods.

The rehabilitation of OBELC is now underway.  Children’s books, school materials and supplies are still needed to replace those that were washed out.  A parent helped facilitate a structural assessment of the center to determine whether the place is still safe for the children or major repairs need to be done.

We are also raising funds for the Busilak Day Care Center in Talanay.  The whole structure needs to be transferred to another location, a safer distance from the creek.  Meantime, classes will temporarily continue pending the replacement of books and materials.  TFCS also contributed to the rebuilding of the bridge connecting the day care center to the main community so that the school can be accessible again to the children.

As of this writing, another super typhoon is expected to hit northern Luzon within the next 24 hours.  Hopefully, with painful lessons learned, disaster preparedness measures will now be implemented and relief efforts will be minimal.

Acknowledgments part 2

The TFCS would like to thank the following for their support:

Donations in kind:

1. Mr. Basilio and Mrs. Mamerta Santiago – 10 sacks of rice
2. Mr. Winfred Tan – assorted groceries
3. Community of Learners Foundation – 100 relief packs and used clothing
4. UP Diliman Geology 151 class – school supplies, used clothing, groceries
5. UP Manila Gabriela Youth – school supplies
6. KPACIO – school supplies
7. Child Learning Program (Mandaue City) – used clothing
8. UP Diliman Stand UP – assorted groceries, toiletries, used clothing, school supplies
9. Pail and Shovel Learning Center – 95 relief packs, school supplies
10. c/o Ms. Lyn Francisco – school supplies
11. Joni Ferrer (Singapore) – assorted groceries and used clothing
12. c/o CLANS (General Santos) – used clothing

Financial donations:

1. OBELC parents (Libis area)
2. Ms. Sandra van Beek (The Netherlands)
3. Iligan Society (c/o Ms. Babeth Justiniano)
4. Mr. Ponciano Salvador