Simply being there

Simply being there helps. Whether you’re at a funeral, a disaster area, or beside a friend who is sick or has a broken heart, quietly holding a hand or digging through four feet of mud tells people you care.

Many of us who went to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan as volunteers on a personal capacity, learned that very valuable lesson first hand. No one asked if we had lots of money or certificates of training or medical degrees. Even those “in-charge” did not give out applications or lists of requirements, they would simply call for help to do this or to do that, and just as quickly, people would be there to get the job done.

Last Tuesday, December 27, I was in Iligan City surveying and documenting the extent of the damage. Few people may know this, but Iligan suffered more damage and probably lost more lives compared to Cagayan de Oro. In fact I estimate that Iligan suffered about 5 to 10 times more than Cagayan de Oro.

I realized this as Councilor Frederick Siao personally brought us to the seriously affected areas. In Iligan, they say Ground Zero or where the worst damage happened was in “Orchid Village,” a middle class residential community that was several hundred meters from the river.

When we reached the road entering to Orchid Village, we were immediately stopped by policemen in combat fatigues carrying assault rifles asking for our authority or business in the area. This was a clear sign that things were bad at “ground zero.”  I expected to see similar sights as in Cagayan de Oro, but things were bad.

Not only were houses flooded, but also the streets were full of mud almost four feet high, many walls were smashed, roofs were peeled off and the whole thing looked like a hurricane had hit the place. Instead of civilians it was police and military personnel who were doing most of the clean up. Instead of manual labor they were already employing backhoes and other machinery to remove the debris.

As I approached the riverside part of the village, where most of the damage occurred, I saw a group of volunteers that I did not expect to be there. The volunteers had a small truck that had a banner in front of it that read: Province of Cebu relief and rehabilitation operation.

They were not an army of volunteers. They did not have a battalion size, corps of engineers and machineries. They were a mere handful riding on an elf truck. But they carried a message that many in two provinces read: The people of Cebu cares and are willing to share.

This small contingent did the people of Cebu proud, simply by being there and helping as much as they could.

I sincerely want to encourage our many readers who have been debating about going to CDO and Iligan to help, to please do so. If you are from the Province of Cebu or nearby, you have several advantages that you may be taking for granted.

First of all you are much closer to CDO or Iligan, which means your travelling distance is shorter, you have several choices of transport by boat or by plane and your cost to fly or sail and carry relief goods is cheaper than for those of us coming from Luzon especially from Metro Manila.

Aside from your logistical and geographical advantage, you speak the same or similar dialect that helps you communicate better with local volunteers and victims, most especially the children.

I’m sure the readers of The FREEMAN would have had a good laugh listening to my hybrid Bisaya, which turned out to be a combination of Waray, Bicol, Ilongo and Palawan and English. The children constantly gave me that funny puzzled look which signaled that I was not making sense.

So if this guy from Metro Manila who is more at ease speaking Batangas Tagalog can communicate with people from Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, how much more effective and helpful could Cebuanos and Bisaya be?

Finally, after spending the last 5 days in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, I can tell you that they can use all the help they can get. Remember, most of the victims lost all their earthly possessions. To top it all most of the victims lost one or many loved ones.

The two new items we have been suggesting to our friends and contacts is to send toys and learning materials for the children. The other item that I am sure all of you have, are cellphones. Most of us have at least on or two old but usable cellphones that we can give away. After losing loved ones or almost losing family members, as well as their cellphones, these idle units will bring some reassurance to the victims and their children. My only request is that you provide them with a SIM card, as they also need to save every centavo they have.

May GOD bless each and every one of you. May you be a blessing in the saddest Christmas season for Iligan and CDO and may you have a blessed and prosperous New Year!!!

* * *

Email: [email protected]