A first time trip to the Philippines was a journey of a life time starting in a Northern Coastal town called Olongopo near Subic bay and a road trip that took 31 hours of crazy traffic, Mountainous roads, volcanoes and a two hour treacherous Ferry crossing in the San Bernardino Strait from Matnog to the Port of Allen on Sumar Island.
As I stood at the back of the ferry in the centre to avoid the crazy rolling in 3 metre swells on the night seas I noticed about 300 people Praying and saying their Hail Mary’s whilst kissing their Jesus face emulates around their neck, that I realised where I was and the potential dangerous situation I was in.
I knew that the trip would be an adventure but after seeing many accidents, a dead person and our vehicle collecting a roadwork’s sign that appeared out of nowhere and ending up in a ditch, we arrived at Lawaan (at 3am) in Sumar (near Tackloban) where Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) destroyed many homes, villages, towns and infrastructure. At one point after I had to drive to relieve the driver for a couple of hours so that he could get some sleep as I was starting to think that we would never make it and would end up like the unfortunate person killed in a traffic accident along the way.
After arriving in what appeared to be a war zone at 3am I felt relieved but with a sense of dread at what the daylight would bring. With Apocalyptic thoughts racing through my head I barely slept even though I had only 4 hours sleep in the past 48 hours.
My first sense was of despair at the sheer destruction of what Typhoon Yolanda had cast upon the district, and then as I went about meeting people and asking them how I could help I felt a sense of community determination, a sense of pride and a strength to overcome the destruction of that severe storm.
Lawaan in Eastern Samar is about the size of Katherine and is a fishing and farming community reliant on Carabao (Buffalo), rice, vegetables, chickens, pigs, fish, coconuts and bananas, which are now all in short supply and great demand as Lawaan people try to reinstate their lives, farms and homes whilst still grieving and searching for lost family and friends.
With only some tarps, tents, a bag of rice, a bottle of cooking oil and a bottle of soy sauce from foreign aid they managed to smile and make me feel welcome and a part of their village.
“The official death toll from super typhoon “Yolanda” (international name Haiyan) is now at 6,201, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.
In Tacloban, 2,542 bodies remain unidentified. The NDRRMC said 1,785 people remain missing while 28,626 others were injured when Yolanda struck the country last November 8, 2013. At least 16,078,181 individuals were affected by the typhoon, with 4,095,280 people displaced. ” – ABS CBN News
With help from the Community I would like to do fundraising to help re-establish the farms, fish markets, piggeries, vegetable gardens and rice fields in Lawaan so that the people can rebuild their lives and in time regain what is now lost but with our help regain.
Please contact Bill Daw – Email: William.daw@live.com.au if you would like to help fund raise and or come with me to their village to offer assistance direct to the people of Lawaan.
williamdaw 