While we were in Subic for our TREK project, we started getting sad news from friends about the damage from Ondoy. We heard terrible things, but we couldn't leave right away due to the intense rains. So, we were just trying to gather bits of information from friends, and from what we could understand, it was really bad.

The first thing we did when we got back was to watch the news and look for a place where we could volunteer.

We went to La Salle and to the Cubao Expo, but we knew we could do more. Thanks to Facebook, we were able to meet the people from the Yuchengco Foundation where we volunteered to deliver goods in Pasig and Montalban. We were also able to gather donations, mostly from abroad, enough for us to conduct our own relief operations.

Upon the recommendation of friends, we first went to Wawa, Rizal. Residents still, at that time, had floodwaters in their homes, preventing them from going back to their normal lives. We bought sacks of rice, canned goods, and some school supplies.

Typhoon Pepeng

The country was still recovering from Ondoy when we were hit by another storm, Pepeng. Pangasinan was among the provinces damaged by Pepeng.

With whatever money left on our funds and new donations, we coordinated with my friend Anne Castro, who is from Pangasinan. We used their restaurant, Dagupena, as a base for our operations. We reached three different barangays.

It was a mix of so many emotions. We knew we wanted to help. At times, we were a bit hesitant. What if what we brought were not enough? These people were hungry. There were times we received negative remarks and we were faced with a rowdy throng of people, and some of them were not really in need. But, there were those who cried and have expressed so much gratitude that they can already eat. If only for them, we were happy we were chosen by a good bunch of people to deliver their help.