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Living in the aftermath of 3 typhoons

I believe that there are many kind people who will readily give to help the hungry and helpless but do not know how to reach them.

As I drove around the flooded province of Laguna, Philippines, I saw people carrying on with their lives in their flooded homes. Their homes had already been flooded for a whole month and according to the governmental authorities the flood waters would not fully subside for another 4 months because the outlet of the large lagoon (from which Laguna gets its name) into the South China Sea is obstructed by illegal housing and garbage which hinder the outflow of flood waters into the sea.

flooded streets
flooded streets

It was indeed a strange sight to see a housewife wading waist deep in water in her own house carrying a child and watching her TV which is set on a table that is placed on another underwater table. I presume the whole family sleeps on that elevated table since it is the only part of their house that is not submerged. An enterprising lady pulling a little boat laden with daily necessities goes past the house but no one seems to buy anything, probably because no one has money to purchase anything.

As a doctor, I know that these waters are not a mere inconvenience but a deadly danger to the entire population. The filthy water is a perfect media to carry many types of deadly bacteria. There are already outbreaks of dengue fever and leptospirosis (a potentially deadly disease from the urine of rats, etc).

flooded homes
flooded homes

But even more deadly to the population is the contamination of their water sources (eg. wells). The poor cannot afford bottled water, nor can they afford fire-wood to boil their water and many young children will die from diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, etc. Because of malnourishment many young children and babies will perish after a short bout of untreated diarrhoea.

I was told that the local authorities were already out of vitamins, medications and food for this area. When I asked a local how the people got their food since most of their sources of livelihood (ie, the farms) were destroyed, he answered me “Whenever a good Samaritan gives them something.”

In our experience with feeding children in poor countries, we have found that for about US$0.15 to US$0.20 cents per child, we can provide a simple meal of chicken flavoured rice-porridge with bits of chicken in it.

Two large buckets of rice porridge with chicken (costing US$20.00) can provide a meal for a hundred hungry children!

I believe that there are many kind people who will readily give to help the hungry and helpless but do not know how to reach them.

Goducate must be the voice of the helpless to the helpers, and the channel of the helpers to the helpless!

More photos (click thumbnail to view photos):
[nggtags gallery=typhoon2,typhoon1]

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Visit to Laguna, feeding program for children

I have just come back from Philippines and my last stop was in the flood devastated province of Laguna – just a couple hours’ drive south of Manila.

Laguna has been hit by 3 typhoons in the past month (the last being just a few days ago) and many of the villages have been under water for a month. As I drove past vast “lakes” of water that were once villages, I saw an occasional basket-ball post or an old TV antenna sticking out of the water. Under the waters of these newly formed lakes are the houses and the hard-earned belongings of thousands of people who are now gathered in evacuation centers in nearby school buildings.

A town under water
A town under water

When I arrived at one of these evacuation centers in the town of Bay, I saw hundreds of people who now make this school their “home.” As the refugees occupied half of the classes (approximately 8 families to a classroom), the students had to have some their classes in make-shift “classrooms” and under the trees.

Two kind sponsors had contributed a total of PHP135,000.00 (US$2,900.00) to Goducate to start a feeding program for these people. A group of Christians from Laguna was given this fund to feed the children in different feeding centers.

This group of Christians, though poor themselves and also affected in varying degrees by the flood, networked with a kind lady who owns a nearby hot-spring resort (the Royal Palm Resort) to use the resort van to transport their workers and the food to these centers.

When we arrived at about 5pm, the kids (aged from 3 to 12) had already gathered in front of the school administrative building to have possibly their first meal of the day. Each child had a cup in his hand (some wiser ones had large plastic ice-cream containers!) eagerly waiting to get their cupful of soupy noodles (flavoured with Maggi chicken cubes). As soon as their got their cupful from the large pail of noodle soup, they rushed off to a “quiet” spot to swallow down their meal.

children being fed at evacuation center
children being fed at evacuation center

As soon as they finished their cup, some of them tried to come around for a second cupful but were “caught” and reprimanded by the workers who had to be sure that each of the over hundred children got at least a cupful of food.

I was supposed to video the scene but found myself overwhelmed by the look of helplessness in the people around me. I had seen hunger in Africa, India, Cambodia – and I thought that I’d seen it all but a constant thought came back to me “Paul, you are the voice of these helpless ones.”

I knew that I had to be their voice to a whole world of people around me who have been blessed with plenty.

I knew that I had to tell of their plight to the many kind people who want to help but just do not know how to reach the helpless.

As I stood there with the camera in my hand, I knew that I had to record their plight because I was the “voice” of these helpless brothers and sisters of mine!

Yes, Goducate must be the voice of the helpless – to those who want to help!

More photos (click thumbnail to view photos):
[nggtags gallery=typhoon1,feedingprogram]