MANILA, Philippines - When Super Typhoon Yolanda struck Eastern Visayas in November last year, 18-year-old Ernest Reyes Dimakiling was with his family in Palo, Leyte, trying to brace the door of their house to stop it from being blown away by strong winds.
But the typhoon was too much for their efforts, and their house was severely damaged.
Dimakiling admitted that Yolanda was one of the most traumatic and depressive events in his life.
The concept of shelter has changed a lot for Dimakiling, a biology student who was among the 200 students of University of the Philippines in Tacloban who cross-registered to the university’s flagship campus in Diliman, Quezon City this semester.
Last week, the UP College of Arts and Letters (CAL) opened an exhibit of the works of 20 students affected by Yolanda. Some of the participants, like Dimakiling, were in Eastern Visayas when Yolanda struck. Others were in UP Diliman but their families were in the affected areas.
The Bakawan (mangrove) exhibit features the output of the series of writing, dance and drawing psychosocial workshops conducted by various experts over the past several weeks.
– With Jess Diaz, Rhodina Villanueva