Reconstructing hearts and homes

As I started to write this column last Monday, it dawned upon me I was supposed to join my friends at the Jewish Synagogue to observe how they held the rites for the “Day of Atonement”.

I could not help but wonder if there was any divine connection between the Day of Atonement and our week of national disaster? For the last two days, I have been silently asking God “What am I suppose to learn from this?” I guess many Filipinos, victim or not, are also asking why such a thing had to happen.

“Why?” does not really create solutions. You may get an answer to “why” but it rarely leads to positive, life changing things or something that motivates you to be useful or productive.

In asking the question “What”, it dawned upon me that we should all ask our selves: “What can I do?” When the impact of the disaster hit home, I first felt useless. I was not part of any company, team or association. But as I monitored the news, I heard of needs that some friends could address because they were heads of corporations. So I started texting them “unsolicited advice” or ideas.

Soon, the very same people started to call TV stations to donate large quantities of food and water. Another CEO sent out his crew to donate several millions worth of medicines. A day later I learned that they had donated P5 million to several organizations. This morning I heard another CEO had made their choppers available and was offering to buy rubber boats to donate to rescue operations.

What I learned is that simply making suggestions is no small thing.

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I stated in my last column that we should all consider that people, whose homes were flooded, are no different from people whose houses have been razed by fire. You may still have a house left standing, but for how long and at what cost.

Please be careful. I have built enough structures in my life — time to tell you that a house that has been submerged for several days can be a dangerous proposition. If you recall, many residents of New Orleans were prevented from returning to their homes after the flooding caused by hurricane Katrina. Given the poor attention to quality standards in this country, houses in recently flooded areas may have structural shifts if the ground has been affected by water.

A perfect example was a concrete house in Marilao, Bulacan where the concrete walls crumbled from being waterlogged because they used little cement, too much water and sand. A house in Pasig burst into flames because of electrical shortage once the electric power was restored.

Several friends consulted me about water that came out of their electrical sockets which indicates that their hollow walls had accumulated rainwater. In the older houses, a lot of the wooden structural work will warp since the old dry wood suddenly soaked in so much water.

Once we’re all done with the rescue and relief work, all local governments must prepare their engineering and fire departments to inspect all homes in order to prevent more damage and more deaths.

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If you have friends or family who were flood victims, one of the best things you can do for them is give them a “ wash away party” similar to bridal showers. Many families have lost most of their appliances like refs, stoves, ovens, dining tables, sofas etc.

Many of us on the other hand have three TVs, two toasters several radios, stereos, laptops etc. Instead of Christmas in December, lets all start Christmas early this year. We already hold the world title for having the longest yuletide season, why not make it months longer?!!!

Start Christmas in October by giving them what they need to start all over. Right now everything we give is for “relief” but not restarting. The best way of holding a wash away party is to do an inventory of lost appliances and necessities.

Once you have the list, friends can join in by picking an item on the registry and giving that to the person or family. Just some tips from the handyman:

You can buy really tough and cheap cast iron burners from Divisoria or SM just like they use in restaurants. I got mine around P700. If you buy an electric fan, buy one with steel blades and local parts. You don’t need big refrigerators; you don’t need a washing machine if you use Ariel. You simply soak clothes overnight. Just like the Japanese, we sleep on the floor. All you need is a big mattress. We don’t use a big air conditioner at night; we simply use a smaller room.

Rebuilding does not necessarily mean reacquiring “stuff”. Just because you have the space does not mean you need to refill the area. If anything we must learn that having a life is much more important than “Lifestyle”.

Our national disaster is undoubtedly sad, tragic and difficult. But it is also an “answered prayer”. We have all been praying for change in our nation. We are now faced with the opportunity to let that change begin with each of us.

We can now be part of our “National Reconstruction” to reconstruct our hearts as well as our homes. Help someone and in doing so you also reconstruct yourself. God bless you and be encouraged.