Discovering Noah's Ark

Last Sunday (September 27), we helped at the relief center and were able to pack four truckloads of goods. But today, we wanted to be in the front lines.

Our day started with a lot of tweets, calls, and texts. We gathered all the goods from among ourselves and from those that donated to Luca branches. The tweets, retweets, Facebook status updates really helped! I was so shocked to see the number of relief goods dropped off at our branches! Our shop was overflowing! 

We were coordinating with Angel Locsin who set up a relief drive two buildings away from our GA Sky Suites showroom. We all planned to go to Marikina for distribution but after seeing Angel’s text, we decided to go to Payatas.

Angel’s text about Payatas, “Kawawa yung mga biktima dito na never nakatikim ng maginhawang buhay. Wala silang 2nd floor na matungtungan. Estimated 50 ang patay, pero hindi sila mabibigyan nang pansin.”

We were able to gather the goods at the showroom by 12:30. Some of our friends were already there when we arrived. People from GA (Florence, Theresa, Merla, Mj, Chubby,Rocky, Vanessa, and Donny) came in full force; designers such as Martin Bautista and Veejay Floresca, Ino Caluza were there; Stylist Shahani Gania and Pam Quinones; Embassy DJ Mars Miranda; Supreme’s David Milan; our doctor Khaz; Architects Ric Matic, Yong Lansigan, Jay Lumbuan; Saga peeps Mia and Elmer; and Olive Chan. Whew... what a list!

Here comes the magical part. Since we all finished packing quite late, Angel’s group went ahead. We were able to fill four SUVs with relief goods. And I mean packed: just the driver, the goods, and no passengers. We made our way to Payatas, but since we were such a long convoy of some seven cars, we lost some of the others along the way. Anyway, while we were trying to look where Angel was, we saw the destruction wrought by Ondoy along the way. You could already see how so many people’s houses were destroyed, and how everything was just so muddy. Even the people walking had mud all over them. The roads were tiny and we got lost trying to maneuver from one point to the next. We ended up at one of the basketball courts that had already been converted into a relief center. I went down to check if we could distribute any goods or if we had finally found where Angel and the rest were. They weren’t there.  All I saw was the basketball court divided into two sides: left side were for those that had lost their homes, and right side were for those that had lost their lives. There were dead bodies right in front of me. I decided that I wanted to help, but I wouldn’t have been able to stop the tears flowing from my eyes had we continued. 

The Typhoon Ondoy Reality

With nowhere to go, I just told my group to go straight but the roads started to get narrower until we couldn’t pass anymore. So we saw an open area: a gate with a ramp that led upwards.  We decided to enter the gate and make our u-turn. Upon entering the gate, we realized it was a small compound of houses. Then, off to our right, we saw a few people unloading some boxes. I went down to ask if they were Angel’s group but they said no. Then I asked if they were distributing goods. They said yes but they had just run out of food.... Serendipity! We had four vans of goods. We decided there and then we were going to stay and join forces with this group. In 30 minutes, everyone was moving. Clothes packages, food packages but no instructions, everyone knew where to go and what to do! The people we met there coordinated with the barangays and they were able to gather the victims of the flood. This was not the riot type of gathering — everyone was so nice, polite, and orderly. They even had stubs ready so that they could claim their goods. It was organized in a matter of minutes! We saw the line go from short to endless... we were scared that we might run out of food and clothes to give. But just like the seven loaves of Jesus, we were able to give everyone. It was so magical... Just when the line looked endless, the supplies seemed endless as well. We gave away a total of 800 packages more or less for 800 families! Can you imagine that? 

And while we were giving away goods, someone was about to give birth! Unbelievably, one of our friends was a doctor! See, another magical moment. No, she didn’t give birth, after all. But he assisted her the whole time. 

To top it all off, we heard the most magical thing before we left. The area where we stayed was nicknamed Noah’s Ark. It became the the safe refuge for the whole immediate area, as it was the highest point in the vicinity. The place wasn’t big, only about 1000 sq m. So it looked like an island during the storm. It was just so magical that we ended up there — considering the place was pretty hard to find. You wouldn’t have thought it was a compound but rather, just the gate for someone’s house.

We said our goodbyes and promised to come back to never forget our experience. We may have lost Angel trying to find the original relief center, but you know what?  All the angels I’d ever need were already with me... my friends.  While we were all close to tears in saying our goodbyes, one lola asked me again, “Is your name really Divine Lee, as in the word divinely?” They thought it was a joke. “No, my name really is Divine Lee. And this place really is Noah’s ark... for them and us alike.”