Prayers for the people of Kalibo
In the aftermath of typhoon Frank we are left with numerous disasters. The sinking of MV Princess of the Stars, the various floodings in the provinces, the browouts, the deaths but among these there is one that really hit me is right that at home.Kalibo has been hardly hit by typhoon Frank. My mom just got off the phone with my aunt and she has told a tale so harrowing and depressing that left a deep mark on me. According to them they've never felt a typhoon this strong with floods so high and so sudden. My auntie recounted that she and my cousin were almost trapped to death when they were in the basement of our building (it's the commerical building on the corner of Roxas Avenue and Oyo Torong near the bridge to Numancia) trying to salvage some of their stuff when the waters suddenly came rushing it reaching almost to head level in a matter of seconds. Luckily my other cousin was there and he was able to kick the door open and bring them out. There are also stories of people just crossing the street who were just lucky to grab onto something when the waters came in from the overflowed Aklan river because if they hadn't they would surely have been swept away.
The whole province is now covered in mud now and there are is a dearth of basic resources. A kilo of rice now costs 150 pesos and they have no supply of water and electricity. What is so sad is there is no support coming in from the local or the national government even though there are scores of people dead and injured and badly need help. The story that hit me the most was that of auntie scavenging around for a paracetamol for my cousin suffering from fever due to an infected wound. The building itself became an evacuation area for lost children. It really is a mess there right now and even though we'd like to send something to them we obviously can't as there are problems on transportation and on the businesses themselves. According to preliminary estimates the earliest that electricity and water will be restored is in a month's time. My aunt and my grandmother can't help but cry with this tragedy. My aunt kept on telling my mom, "wala na kaming gamit.." but i fear its more than that.
I fear that they did not lose their material possesions alone, what's worse is, they've lost hope.
And though I don't know how to help them right now physically, what I know is that if we just join and pray together for them.. that they may find the strength, the courage and the hope to go through this, maybe, no, i'm sure that they will find that little bit of hope. Little, but more than enough to see them through.
We've prayed and lent a hand for various disaster victims all over the world, this time though let's pray for our fellow Filipinos, those that lost a loved one in various disasters, those whose lives were shattered, those that needed to be reminded that there is goodness left in this world.
posted by JaY @ 6/23/2008 04:43:00 PM
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