On the evening of December 16, 2021 , a catastrophe came to worsen the already difficult situation of our families tested by two long years of the pandemic, after distributing all Christmas bundles, typhoon “Odette” strongly hit Cebu and other nearby islands. Some members of Bukas Palad staff stayed overnight in the center, due to the bad weather, and witnessed the strong wind that knocked down trees, power lines, shattered window panes, while the rain continued pouring. Towards dawn, families from the surrounding areas came to Bukas Palad to seek refuge, as their houses had been badly damaged. Road debris made transportation very difficult, internet and telephone communications were cut due to interrupted lines. The damage to most of the power lines caused a blackout in the city for months, with a ripple effect on the distribution and availability of potable water, basic necessities and gasoline.
Thanks to the immediate response of the Youth for a United World from the island of Leyte that was less affected by the typhoon, the first help arrived. With many difficulties a truck of potable water was able to reach Cebu, and the staff of Bukas Palad made every effort to distribute gallons of drinking water to surrounding families. Then between January to April, thanks also to your help, we were able to help repairing the damaged houses of 82 families and also the damaged building of Bukas Palad.
Here are some of their experiences of what they went through;
“December 16, 2021 is a day that I will not easily forget. Super Typhoon Odette left a hair-raising memory as it brought the most violent winds that destroyed most of the houses in the affected areas. It is the first time we have been hit so badly. I could hear from inside the house, the loud bangs, wind blowing so hard outside, whistling and growling. My mother is crying, praying for our safety and protection. My siblings were all terrified. Part of our roof flew away and our things got wet. We immediately evacuated to our neighbor’s house and spent the night there. My heart beats so fast for hours praying for everyone’s safety. Early in the morning, as I watched outside, most of the houses had been damaged. Trees block the roads. There is no telephone signal and no Internet access.
Life after the typhoon was really tough. No electricity and no water for almost a month. Fortunately, even if it was tough, we still managed to get up and start over. The house is now repaired and I am grateful for the help we have received from Bukas Palad. Above all, I am grateful that my whole family is alive! I realized how lucky we are. We can always rebuild our house and everything that has been damaged, but our lives are irreplaceable. No one is above or below when life is at stake. We all need each other to survive and lead a purpose-driven life, rich and poor alike. Life is too precious and short not to live it fully with all your heart ”. (Jelly)
“I still remember it clearly, it was almost 8:00 pm when my family and I were already in bed. Rain was pouring and the wind was so strong. We heard about the coming typhoon but we thought it would be like one of the many we went through. We did not prepare anything. We did not secure food, water, important documents and our clothes.
I was lying on the bed and was about to fall asleep when suddenly I felt a strong wind hit our house. At first I didn’t mind it, but later on it was about to blow our house. My father was alarmed because a wall on the upper floor flew away as it was made of light material and was twenty years old. We started to panick. We therefore decided to move to my aunt’s house, not far from ours. We only took some savings we had at home and our cellphones with us. We stayed there the whole night. It was painful because we could clearly hear how our house was slowly being destroyed by the typhoon. I couldn’t sleep thinking about our house. Our little brother was already crying, he wanted to go back home. I also wanted to cry that night, but I had to be strong. I didn’t want to be a burden. I held back tears all night until I fell asleep from exhaustion.
The next day, I was contemplating whether to look on the status of our house or not but in the end, I visited. It was a painful scene. I cannot distinguish our house anymore. It was severely damaged. The roof and walls of the upper floor were no longer there. Some walls on the ground floor had been destroyed. Our clothes were all wet. Our rice was also spilled. It was traumatic to see how the typhoon ruined our home.
There were nights when I secretly cried because of our situation. My mental health wasn’t that good. I experienced breakdowns, it was not easy to find the courage to face the situation. It was a heartbreaking event, but we need to move on. I decided to give the little money I was saving for college. My older brother’s savings were also spent for our daily needs.
We were striving everyday. We worked as a family . We need to be strong to stay alive. Fortunately, donations started coming in and we were able to buy food. When we received help from Bukas Palad, we were able to gradually repair our house. My parents also got a new job which really helped us a lot. It was a tough experience, but I’m so proud to have made it this far, to have been able to overcome that tragedy. (Samantha).
