Five years after Typhoon Yolanda; A Promise Fulfilled

Adversity brings out the worst and the best of men. But adversity also trains the light on the face of God — as reflected on those who help people climb out of the deep abyss of destruction and despair.

Five years ago, after typhoon Yolanda or Haiyan barreled across his province, a tearful Rep. Ben Evardone told reporters: “There is no more Eastern Samar province. You cannot recognize it. The devastation was horrific!”

To Samareños who survived, it seemed like they survived the end of the world. For the more than 7,360 who perished, it was indeed the end of their world, and the end of the world for those who loved them. But many Good Samaritans wanted the aftermath of Yolanda to be a new beginning, not a dead end.

After Yolanda struck in 2013, the Assumption Alumnae Association (AAA), through Gina Gabaldon Hechanova, immediately sounded a call for help among alumnae. A group called “Assumption Cares” was born. Thus, from 2013 to 2018, the Assumption Cares team relentlessly fulfilled a promise to a community of 10,000 residents whose lives and houses were devastated beyond imagination.

A school building in Barangay Sung-An in Mercedes.

Gina Gabaldon Hechanova chairs  Assumption Cares with members Maricris Cardenas Zobel, Gina Africa Aboitiz, Marily de Castro Ledesma, Dida Cosio Salita, Connie Gomez Valdes, Mielle Esteban and Mely Diaz.

“In the midst of a blackout came a promise, a promise not only for immediate relief but also a promise to rebuild and rehabilitate Mercedes,”  Assumption alumna Mely Diaz recalls.

Mercedes is a town in Eastern Samar that no one from the AAA knew of at first.

Mely recalls how God led them to Mercedes.

Before and after photos of a chapel in Barangay Cabunga-an.

“Archbishop Soc Villegas in Dagupan gave us a signpost when he announced his archdiocese was adopting Guiuan in Eastern Samar, the site of Yolanda’s first landfall. We followed the Archbishop in our search for a community to help. Through the internet we found the municipality of Mercedes, eight kilometers away from Guiuan, whose parish was dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. The parish name coincidentally, like our beloved Holy Father’s name Pope Francis, affirmed our choice.

“It was no small miracle that in the terrible aftermath of the storm, we were able to contact the parish priest on his cell phone. Fr. Moises Campo had never met an Assumption girl in his life, but there in the midst of a blackout came a promise, a promise not only for immediate relief but also a promise to rebuild and rehabilitate Mercedes.”

And the promise was fulfilled.

After five years, Mercedes, Eastern Samar has risen from the rubble of Yolanda’s wrath. Assumption Cares, a charity arm of Assumption alumnae, built 156 shelters in five barangays and will build another 20 in another barangay. The houses were funded by AAA Spain through the leadership of Mielle Esteban and other alumnae in Manila. They installed an internet service in 2014 donated by AAA under the leadership of Marily Ledesma. The monolithic domes in Busay were renovated and house two libraries — a Toy Library donated by Gina Aboitiz and a Children’s Library donated by Assumption Class ‘81. The other domes are used as a kitchen and training center, a single dome for male and female bathrooms and a medical clinic. The design and monitoring of the buildings were spearheaded by Maricris Zobel.

Monolithic domes in Busay.

“We wanted something different and longer-lasting that neither wind nor earthquake could destroy. We want to leave a legacy behind — not just a structure for show and then to be destroyed again. We are doing this because Assumption Cares means a commitment to make a difference in the lives of others,” says Maricris Zobel.

Another library filled with books was built by Assumption Class ‘81 in Bobon, Port Kennedy.

 Five Catholic diocese-owned chapels were renovated with support of Assumption Class ‘77 and the Concepcion-Hechanova family. A new parish center named St. Marie Eugenie Center was built. It pioneered the first K-to-12 LEEP program in Eastern Samar through Knowledge Channel through Rina Lopez. As a result, the Department of Education (DepEd) built additional two classroom buildings in two barangays. In partnership with the DepEd and TESDA, a new computer training center was built and another one for student training. Computers were donated by NEXUS through Assumption Cares. A new building is under construction to house student computer training programs.

Gina Hechanova, Dida Cosio Salita and Joy Lagdameo.

Relief, rebuild and rehabilitation are only temporary solutions. Assumption Cares aims to bring back the dignity and self-sufficiency of the residents. In partnership with Philippine Business for Social Progress in 2015, it started a “Food on the table” project for 100 families in Barangay Busay. In 2017, a demo farm was constructed in Barangay Buyayawon to serve as a model for self-sufficiency and sustainability.

“It was a challenge and a commitment,” says Gina Hechanova. Today, the local government unit under Mayor Enrique Cabos has earned the respect of government agencies.  According to Assumption alumnae active in the rehab of Mercedes, “His good governance earned awards for Mercedes, including: Drug-Cleared Municipality in Eastern Samar and Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance. It has been awarded a fish landing center in Port Kennedy and a new community center from the United Nations Development Programme.   

“Mercedes is our act of ‘fidelity to duty’ —  words of our school song that an Assumption girl, in time, comes to live by. Mercedes is a mark of God’s love and mercy,” says Gina.

(From left) Marily Ledesma, Ana Olondriz, Rose Lopez and Gina Hechanova.

Sometimes at the peak of our pity, we make many well-meaning promises to those who make our hearts bleed. But as time goes by, not all of us deliver on our promises because of the demands of everyday life on our time, our talent and our resources. Nevertheless, this group of ladies stubbornly adhered to their promise, giving the people of Mercedes not just faith in God, but faith in their fellowmen.