While we were still in Subic
for our TREK project, we were already receiving sad news from friends about the
devastation caused by Ondoy. We heard terrible things but we really couldn't
leave immediately because of the intensity of the rains. So, we were just
piecing together bits of information we would get from friends. But as far as
we could gather, it was horrific.
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.
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| Flood Victims in Rizal |
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| Our volunteer Ponga tries on one of the donated clothes |
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| new backpacks for the students who were victims of flood |
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.
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Flood victims in Pangasinan lined up to get relief goods
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Anne's mom made sure we were
well fed and she prepared for us some of the best dishes Dagupena has to
offer.
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| With our host from Pangasinan and Dagupena Owner Mrs Castro |
Some TREK activities are really delicious.
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