Magis

THE interaction we had with the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) sheltered in the covered court of the university had me thinking of the task remaining. There is still a humungous scale of work that needs to be done to help these IDPs.

House. They badly need a house. Not a tent. I can attest to how pathetic it is not to have a house because I once lost our house to fire nine years ago.

And how many IDPs need houses? Thousands. It makes me wonder how many days do they still have to endure living in tents. It makes me wonder how many days does it take to finish a single house. It makes me count the days it take to house ALL of the IDPs.

But more than the physical structure of the house, these people need a home. Home may never be the same again for these people because they might have lost a member or two of their family but at least they have people whom they can pour out their emotions to.

After our short intervention with eight of the IDPs, one came up to us and with a genuine smile and tone of her voice she said Salamat. That was so sweet to our ears. From my end, I do not know exactly what we have done knowing that it was too short a time to prepare but the response was a gauge of our efficiency.

The intervention was simple. We had it focused on living with each other in harmony. But it achieved its purpose. After the Trust Fall challenge, they started processing the activity. They talked. We listened. We learned.

Sendong may be gone but it left everyone valuable lessons.

I remember. After my Curriculum Development class, I hurriedly went out and headed to the covered court for the final rehearsal of the Broadway presentation for the university-wide Christmas party slated on Dec 17 2011. I was pumped. At home, I had my black satin long pants, vest, white long sleeves, black shoes, and to top it all, my fedora hat ala Bruno Mars ready.

New York, New York. It seems that I have raped the play button for that song in my brain. I just could not get over of Frank Sinatra’s song that celebrates the city that never sleeps.

But that party has to be canceled and so are most of the Christmas parties I know. It would not be right that we will be partying while there were many on that night who were disturbed from their sleep, who were carried away by the deluge Sendong brought forth and some were found and some were not even up until now.

These are the days, I reflected, when we think less of ourselves and more of others.

This is a reflection paper submitted for Education 010 Community Immersion and Participation.

KEDRN conquers mud, rubbish

“Any calamity nga mahitabo, it will not just be a crisis but as well as an opportunity. This could be the best opportunity for us nga ipakita sa Cagayan de Oro nga we do care sa Cagayan de Oro,” stressed Bishop Genesis “Bong” Udang, director of Kagay-an Evangelical Disaster Response Network (KEDRN), as he addressed volunteers of the clean-up drive.

Almost 600 volunteers from the evangelical community gathered Friday morning in the kiosk and were armed with brushes, broom sticks, wheel burrow, rakes and shovel and spread themselves in the streets from Burgos-Montalban to Abellanosa to clean the area – houses and halls included.

Czarinavern Nokom, 15, a volunteer from the LAMP Foundation and a member of Jesus for All Bugo said that she was invited and “Tsada sad siya kay makatabang bitaw. Grabe ilang pasalamat then kanang na overwhelm sila kay bisag dili mi kaila, nag tabang mi sa ila then daghan pud mi natabang.”

Mrs Eva C Corro, 66, a resident of barangay 13 was hesitant at first to accommodate volunteers to help her clean her house but “sa diha nga nakit-an nako nga eager kaayo sila, nalipay kay ko. Ana ko nga ‘sige, you may start folding your sleeves’.”

“Naminos-minosan gyud kaayo ang among buluhaton ug labaw sa tanan kay naa pa ang Iyang panalangin. Ug kini ilang gipahinumdom kanato nga matag karon ug unya, nagkinahanglan gyud kita ug panalangin sa Ginoo ug di gyud ta malimot sa pagsangpit kaniya all the time, all the way,” says Corro.

Volunteers conquered thick mud and heaps of garbage that have been the concern of residents, other than water, in the said vicinity after TS Sendong hit the city last December 16.

Barangay 15 Captain Lucilo P Legaspi said that 90 percent of the rubbish in the streets was disposed already. But there remains much to be cleaned inside houses.

“Pagkakarun, kung sa dalan lang nga basura, naa nami sa 90 percent. Nakuha naman gud sa barangay. Daghan man pud ang naghakot. Sa dalan maingun ko 90 percent pero sa mga balay-balay, naa pa siguro mi sa 50 percent nga panghinloon,” says Legaspi.

Bishop Udang, in his message addressed to the volunteers who were waiting for their lunch meal in Jesus is Christ Lord Church, said that the need caused by the typhoon presented an opportunity for the evangelical community in the city.

“Sa Chinese character kung magsulat daw ka ug word nga crisis, ininsik, mabantayan nimo nga mao ra pud nga character ang pagbasa nimo nga ang ipasabot is opportunity,” he shared and mentioned that it is an insight he learned in a training with the Peace and Reconciliation Commission.

“Crisis sa Cagayan de Oro pero opportunity sa Kingdom of God or sa evangelical community to show to Cagayan de Oro that ‘Here we are, nia mi mga evangelical and we care for you. We are willing to serve you. We are willing nga among himuon among kamot nga dirty nga para maalagaran mo’,” he continued.

The support of the pastors of the evangelical community in the city was overwhelming that the number of volunteers went beyond the 400 mark anticipated during the planning stage of the activity. The organizers are hoping that there will be another round of such activity after New Year.

Cagayan de Oro Evangelical Ministers’ Association (COEMA) and Metro Cagayan Ministers’ Fellowship (MCMF) are just two groups that have tied up with KEDRN. Other groups linked to the latter are International Disaster Response Network (IDRN), Operation Blessing, and the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches.

The Department of Social Welfare Department (DSWD), tasked by the national government to spearhead relief operations, recognizes the efforts of KEDRN.

CCMN responds to Sendong aftermath

A TEAM from Cell Church Ministry Network (CCMN) arrived Dec 24 2011from Hong Kong and Taiwan for post-TS Sendong (International Name: Washi) assessment.

“We cannot wait because time is short. People are running out of time. We have to respond quickly,” says Daniel Yiu, team leader.

Two members of the team, Joseph Tsao and Wen Wei, are Taiwanese nationals who are experts in disaster response. They have participated in rescuing and rebuilding operations in Sichuan, China after an earthquake shook the said province in 2008.

Other members of the team are Bikshan Cheng, a freelance writer, and Ivan Chan, a public health specialist who has worked with World Vision in China.

“My schedule is very flexible so when my church call people to come to help people in the Philippines. I just raised my hand and said ‘Ok I can do it. I can fly to that area,’” says Pixan.

“These people come and give us some good ideas and suggestions on what to do,” says Daniel.

The team has visited areas ravaged by the flashflood like Isla de Oro and Sitio Kala-kala.

“Actually, we have seen the actual situation and talked to some victims and understood their story and (we will) bring back true story to tell the people,” says Daniel, who was also a missionary to India for 12 years.

One of the concerns in flood-stricken areas is community and house cleaning so the team bought a pressure washer and a water pump. It has demonstrated to the local people in Montalban, Burgos and Isla Delta how to use these machines for sucking water from the river and for cleaning muddied houses.

Before going home, the team visited Calaanan relocation site for a prayer walk. Reportedly, 200 tents will be temporarily pitched in the said site on Dec 29, 2011 to shelter internally displaced persons (IDP) coming from evacuation centers. CCMN might be able to sponsor a number of houses for IDPs to be built in the permanent relocation site.

In January 2009, when a flashflood hit Cagayan de Oro mainly in the same areas TS Sendong wreaked havoc, CCMN has donated semi-concrete type of houses.

CCMN has been a long-time partner of Celebration International Church Network and Foundation. It sends teams of short-term missionaries annually to the Philippines.

BUKAL conducts training on trauma counseling

Balikatan, Ugnayan, Kaagapay, at Lingap (BUKAL) Life Care and Counseling Center conducted a three-day disaster response training in light of the havoc caused by typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro on Dec 16 2011.

“If you would come and see our counseling motto, we have this ‘Spiritually aware, clinically competent’ so we respect the spirituality of the person and we help them out cope with their crisis through their spirituality. But we don’t neglect the psychological discipline. So it is a combination of theology and psychology together,” Rev Joel Aguirre, Executive Director of BUKAL, explained.

BUKAL, which means spring, a source of fresh water, follows a certain method of stress debriefing from the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA). There are three points that the trainees follow: (1) SS - Safety and Security is building rapport and explaining to the victims the agenda of the session; (2) VV - Validation and Ventilation is acknowledging that the victims were traumatized and allowing them to vent out their feeling; (3) PP - Preparation and Prediction is allowing them to find their own strength, and building certain decision making how they can cope with their crisis.

“The conclusion part we try to educate them (victims) and encourage them to keep on hoping. They have to build their hope so they may be able to keep on with their life and cope with their crisis,” Reverend Aguirre continues.

From Oro Christian Grace School, venue of the training, the trainees, ‘spiritual paramedics,’ will be sent to evacuation centers on the last day for their internship.

“Importante jud diay kaayo nga naa gyuy kanang maistoryahan ang isa ka biktima. Dapat gyud sensitibo ka, dapat masabtan nimo sila bisan unsa pa ilang e-express,” Ps Rosemarie Eduave International Disaster Response Network (IDRN) volunteer, shares her lessons in the training.

Typhoon Sendong, that claimed a thousand of lives in Northern Mindanao, especially in Cagayan de Oro, changed the plan of the team of Reverend Aguirre who came here originally for another seminar.

“What had happened like we come here for that another matter, but the disaster happened so it all changed so as much as we have a training in disaster response we want to be relevant,” Reverend Aguirre recalls.

BUKAL Life Ministries, a non-denominational Christian Ministry based in Baguio City, was officially formed in November 2009 in response to the damage of typhoon Pepeng (International Name: Parma) to Benguet Province.