CERV volunteers give more aid to typhoon victims

The Municipality of San Agustin in Romblon Province recently released the official number of totally and partially destroyed houses in CERV’s placement villages.

Poblacion San Agustin had 27 houses totally destroyed and 23 houses partially destroyed; Carmen had 132 houses totally destroyed and 257 partially destroyed; Sugod had 48 houses totally destroyed and 282 partially destroyed; Cabolutan had 74 houses totally destroyed; and along Beach had 42 houses totally destroyed and 282 partially destroyed.

Schools and Day Care Centers in the said villages were also either destroyed or damaged.

CERV’s mangrove planting project is totally destroyed, as well as the marine sanctuary in Carmen.
Fishing activities are also on hold, severely disrupting the first of the main economic activities of the people of San Agustin.

The Manila government issued warnings against fish-eating in the area for fear of poisoning from the toxic substances from the holds of the ship that capsized on Sibuyan Island.

Farming also took a direct hit as rice, coconut and other crops were destroyed by strong winds and floodwaters at the height of the typhoon.

“I sense desperation from the people here. They do not say it in words but you can see it in their eyes,” CERV staff Vincent Embile said.

Last week, CERV and its volunteers distributed more food items to the victims of the typhoon in Poblacion San Agustin and Carmen. Donations from volunteers Peter Barnett (New Zealand), Robin Greenway (Canada) and Catalina Lawsin (USA) benefitted 250 families who were given two kilos of rice, canned sardines and packs of instant noodles.

More relief aid to typhoon victims

CERV and its volunteers held another food relief event for the residents of Long Beach, San Agustin, Romblon. Eighty-five families were given bags containing kilos of rice, packs of instant noodles and canned items last October 28.

As mentioned in previous entries Long Beach was heavily damaged by Typhoon Frank last July. Big waves swept many of its houses and strong winds destroyed crops and boats, leaving behind greater poverty and many illnesses. Three months after the devastation, its residents have yet to recover.

This latest relief-giving was made possible by the efforts of the Barnes Family of Kansas City, Missouri (USA). The Barneses were CERV’s first family of volunteers (Father Michael, Mother Karen, Austin, Sarah, Kim, Isaac and Lancer). They stayed at Long Beach.

Last September, Karen held a presentation before the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League about the poor in the Philippines. At the end of the event, the League donated $300 for the Barnes’ charity activities. Karen another $100 to the amount and promptly sent it to CERV.

About $150 were spent for the food bags. The remaining amount would be used for the repair of Cawayan Day Care Center, which was also heavily damaged by the typhoon.

 

Donations

Donations for the rehabilitation of San Agustin, Romblon after the devastation of Typhoon Frank last July are starting to do their work.

The Carmen Day Care Center, totally destroyed by huge waves at the height of the typhoon, is now being rebuilt at a more inland location. Instead of bamboo walls, the school now has concrete floor and walls. Its new bathroom will also be tiled. Its roofing and its concrete fencing has recently been completed.

After its construction, more tables and cabinets will be constructed by CERV volunteers. CERV will also buy one monobloc chair for each of its 50 students.

Volunteers currently working on the rebuilding of the school are Leighton Wood (Canada), Nels Rodelwald (US) and Roger Johnson (NZ).

In September 6, the Carmen Day Care Center was inaugurated. The ceremonies were led by the Department of Social Work and Development (DPWH) Romblon provincial director June B. Recon and attended by CERV volunteers and staff.
Meanwhile, the repair and enhancement of Sugod Elementary School library is now complete. CERV volunteers involved in the project were Denise Dunn (Australia), Scott Ince (Australia), Colin Lee Chee (Canada), Peter Barnett (NZ), Andrew Hudson (Canada), Paul Murray (US), Debbie Hall (NZ). Denise Johnson (NZ) is now using the library as her classroom for her math and art classes.

Previous to these projects, Leighton Wood completed the painting of a classroom in Cabolutan Elementary School.

Funds for these projects are being financed with donations given through FundRaise Online-New Zealand by former volunteers Dr Sophie Hamada (France), Malcolm Trevena (NZ), Li Ching Ho (Malaysia), as well as one Mr Henri Lex Tapay (nationality unknown).

Debbie's last days in the Philippines

Greetings to all,

Time is going past very quickly here. Only a few more days left before I have to go back to Manila.

I am back in (Barangay) Sugod after the weekend on a neighboring island — a very interesting place with a handful of expats firmly ensconced with Filipino wives and children. (Not the other way round.) I went there with another volunteer, a young woman from Switzerland (Corina Stiffler) who is working in town, about 10 kms from here. Everyone thought we were mother and daughter, until she opened her mouth to speak.

The first evening we met David (terribly English, reminded me of David Horseman). He owns a Deli / restaurant and they have an international menu so we were able to order a feed of spaghetti and meat balls with as much parmesan cheese as I wanted! David proved very helpful and generous with his time and knowledge of the island.

He told us about the typhoon that came through here two months ago — the biggest and most devastating locals can remember. Originally it was tracking across the land to the south of here in an east- west direction (which is unusual in itself because they usually follow the coast lines). So when it hit Visayan waters it swung round to the north, heading directly for the Romblon Islands where I'm living. All these islands experienced about 40 mins of calm as the eye passed over and then it came back with more ferocity. It was the size of the waves that most people talk about, absolutely huge, like mini tsunamis sweeping whole villages away on the southeastern sides of the islands, especially those homes made of nipa or natural fibers. [I guess this is what seduces people to corrugated iron and concrete blokes.]

The greatest tragedy of this typhoon was of course the passenger ship that capsized trapping nearly all of its 800 passengers inside. This was a big ship so it must have been an almighty wave that overturned it. It failed to heed the weather warnings and take shelter, seduced by the eye of the storm. When the engines failed it was curtains for this boat as it obviously went broadside against the waves. It sank shortly afterwards. That it was loaded with an undeclared cargo of pesticides and there has been a hands-off policy ever since with no one prepared to take responsibility for what happened or its salvage. One end is anchored to the ocean floor so it will be no mean task to get it floating again. And who would want to deal with all the corpses inside?

The large island not far from here, near where this boat is languishing, is under constant threat of the lethal cargo escaping. It is being monitored daily and there is a fishing ban in place for the entire coastline. If as much as a small amount of this pesticide should leak into the ocean it could render the entire waters of this area lifeless for years to come. So as you can imagine there is much anxiety among the locals here

 Romblon Island, where we were, is famous for its marble carving and David asked someone to show us around. [He also has a small export business.] There are many workshops lining the roads above the town with angle grinders going flat out. Of course I had to get a closer look at these tools and discovered some ingenious improvisation off the shafts of their grinders. There was some quite interesting works of art...skilled reproductions of greco-roman statues and busts....loads of animals including a life-size lion and a baby elephant.... very groovy little pigs. And of course heaps of kitchenware and furniture. Took lots of photos.

The second night there we stayed at the only beach resort still open on the island. [This is the low season so not much happening on the tourist front. In fact we didn't see any apart from a couple of yacht-ies, if you could call them tourists. People do sail through these waters despite all the unrest down south.}

Anyway, this beach was idyllic. We rented a nipa hut and I spent most of the next day dozing in there with no sound but the surf and the fan going to cool things down. I should say that my living situation in Sugod is very noisy and busy. There are two households living on this compound and much of what goes on happens outside, right below my window. It all starts around 5.00 a.m. when every rooster in the village fires up and not long after people start moving around. By the time we get back from school there's people, animals and activity everywhere. The house is home to many stray cats, dogs, young friends of Tess' teenage children and an old auntie who has had a stroke so is partially immobile. She moves from points A to B very slowly with the help of a walker but spends most of the time sitting somewhere and standing up periodically to pee into a bucket that is permanently below her. She can't speak properly but is often in tears. I feel so sorry for her. There is also a litter of puppies that charge around the place. But to top it off the bitch next door was on heat last week so every dog in the village came visiting and fighting—also under my window—at all hours of the night. A good reason to escape to Romblon Island last weekend.

Life at school continues to be an interesting experience. I have converted half the library to an art room and am working on getting every class in at least once before I leave. This is a big district school with some children walking many miles to get there and back each day. Classes average around 50 in size so I am splitting them in half because I can't cope with those numbers, not when most of the kids can't understand a word I say. As you may have gathered there is virtually no government funding to these schools so there is no equipment or materials unless the teachers or children provide them themselves. Art, music and sport do not feature at all so if I had not bought these art materials there would be no art classes. The sight of paint is a first for most of these children and they are very excited about it. The teachers are only too happy for me to steal them away for an hour or so. They are as fascinated themselves.

So between the books and the art classes I am kept very busy. Just not sure what will happen to it all when I leave next week. Hopefully the teachers will keep it going.

There is one teacher here who has achieved the most amazing landscaping effort along side the children. Every class in the school is responsible for an area of the grounds that they tend as a garden. It’s really amazing. First thing in the morning they are all out there weeding, watering and breaking in new ground. This is the time of year to plant so I will miss out on the full effect come January and February. There is one section of the school that has been converted into a living garden, i.e. a fishpond, a butterfly atrium, all kinds of interesting things growing and on going science experiments amongst it all. It is beautiful with little paths, a bridge and nipa hut that doubles as a shade house. Under the direction of this one teacher the children have done it all themselves. A few years ago apparently there was nothing there.

So I think that's just about enough from me. One other thing. The other morning I woke up to the most fantastic thunderstorm. Thunder and lightening directly over head. It was so loud every thing was shaking and of course the rain was just about making holes in the roof it was coming down with so much force......Very exciting. It certainly silenced everything else.

Love to all.

Debs Hall

(Debs finished her program last August 30, 2008)

Message From Debs

Hullo to all! [This is what the Filipino children say when greeting two or more people.They put their right hand over their heart and say "Hullo to all!". So cute but quite weird when theres only two of you. ]

Right now I am in an internet place on another island (Boracay) where I have gone to get my visa extended. This island is a tourist mecca a world away from where I've been. This time of year it is frequented by rich Filipinos and Asians. The only whites are a smattering of aging, overweight, sickly-looking men, usually with some beautiful young Filipino beauty trailing along dutifully behind. It’s really sad. The whole place is really sad actually. It comes with all the trappings of a glitzy holiday destination—bars, restaurants, souvenir and clothing shops, and street venders everywhere. And not too far away, beyond the facade of shop fronts and hotels, the local people live in their rickety thrown-together huts. Its weird to see rich and poor living so closely together. I don't feel that comfortable here and am looking forward to going back to Tablas Island tomorrow.

My journey there last week went relatively smooth. The overnight boat trip was pretty surreal. As we left port they said a prayer for everyone over the loud speaker. I think the sinking of that ship has really unnerved everyone. It happened not far from where I'm living—this huge upturned hulk with around 700-800 dead bodies inside. A floating coffin. The locals won't swim; so spooked are they and are only just starting to fish again.

I am living in a little coastal villiage 10 kilometers from the nearest town center accessible by motor bikes and side cars only. Apart from the beautiful green rice paddies surrounded by towering cliff faces there is nothing too romantic about it. The villages are pretty squalid. Lots of concrete blocks and corrugated iron everywhere. Only the really poor still live in their traditional grass huts (which is fortunate for them because they are so much cooler). We have one where I'm staying and I am able to siesta there in the heat of the day. It is unbelievably hot and we are not getting the expected afternoon tropical downpours. Luckily there is cold spring fed water here from the mountains and two or three times a day I stand underneath it to cool off. Can drink it from the tap which is a total luxury in this overpopulated country.

My host family is very hospitable. Ma’amm Tess [all older woman are called Ma’am here, including me] is a big cuddly woman who fusses around like a hen. She is a teacher at the school. So every morning at 7:15 we walk there together, be home for lunch at 11:00 and back again at 1:30 p.m.

The first day I turned up with all the books and we set them up in their completely book-less but recently renovated library. The last volunteers did a good job of that. The children were delighted. So excited. So were the teachers. Took lots of photos. I guess this is why I was placed here. What good is a library without books?

So I have been reading to the younger children and taking art classes with the two senior classes. Last week we did blind contour drawing where they are not allowed to look at their paper. Very interesting for them.

I am loving the work at the school and have lots of ideas that the staff are very supportive of. Sadly I have not allowed myself long enough here. It’s going to be a wrench to leave.

Better go now.

Loads of love,

Debs (Hall)
Teaching Volunteer, Sugod, San Agustin, Romblon

Online donations for CERV projects now open

Online donations for CERV projects such as children’s development and relief and rehabilitation of San Agustin are now live on two websites.

GVN Foundation worked fast to put up a Philippine online donation page after Typhoon Frank’s devastation last month, which can be accessed on this link. Donations through this link are tax-deductible in the United States of America.

FundRaise Online-New Zealand also put up this site  for the same purpose.

Donations are done through credit cards. Each donation will be acknowledged with a receipt by either the GVN Foundation or FundRaise Online-New Zealand for tax and other purposes.

CERV IS CALLING ON ALL FORMER AND INCOMING VOLUNTEERS AND FRIENDS TO DONATE.

Moreover, we are requesting all of you to ask your family, friends, colleagues, churches, offices, neighbors and friends to donate as well. This can also be done by emailing and/or creating pages in their Facebook, Friendster, MySpace and others, providing the links above and/or directing them to the CERV website.

Incoming volunteers may also use this as a fund-raising facility before they arrive. Once they arrive, they will be able to participate in the activities where the funds raised through their efforts would be used.

Proceeds of the fund-raising will be used to buy more relief goods such as food items, building and repair materials for very poor families who lost their homes and the schools.

For more news about the destruction in San Agustin, Romblon, as well as ongoing relief efforts kindly visit www.volunteerphilippines.com

How Our Towns Drown

How in the downpour our towns drown, downstream of doom to sea we are returned, houses and pigs in ceaseless procession as skies boom and fall thundering spears to beat down all curses and tears to tide – among seaweed and driftwood and water hyacinths, prayer wreaths for the dead and the drowned,

downstream of doom to sea we are returned. Tottering over manholes, shivering in the blast of a blind monsoon, its hollow howl the rolling dreariness of our emptied hills, our feet doubt their ground where streets vanish in the gorge and swill of slime – to flood at last we are flotsam and scum,

houses and pigs in ceaseless procession. And rushing past our brethren, those lovelorn cats and cockroaches, amind floating roofs, lumbering cadavers of cherished scrap, our naked brats scamper and gambol over their scavenged loot of murky things, tires and handbags and bottles and shoes,

as skies boom and fall thundering spears on Cherry Hill slumping down its slope and shoveling homes in one boulder swoop – landfill of families in moaning mud! so sudden, their screams no echoes bear, abducted to questioning rage of mind by what “state of calamity” or “act of God”

to beat down all curses and tears to tide. Antipolo to Pangasinan the earth rivers and shoves down Pinatubo’s renegade ooze to our paddies swelling to ocean of muck and fishponds collapsing to swamp; for bridges are down, and mountains too far, to flee and shelter from the water’s gore

among seaweed and driftwood and water hyacinths, what word, what route? what water world for breathing space, the floors of our dreams but shiver their fittings and leak their gloom. Clutch of seaweed for hair, drifwood for limbs, hyacinths for a cloak, what new indigene, only survivor to offer

prayer-wreaths for the dead and the drowned? Requiescant in pace … vitam aeternam, so cradle the infant swaddled in rubble grime, just now excavated and no mother to hush its lost wail, no father, no sibling – surely now their wreck is deaf to cranes or fingers digging, to what end any change

how in the downpour our towns drown.             -- Gemino H. Abad. In Ordinary Time: Poems, Parables, Poetics 1973-2003                 University of the Philippines Press. Quezon City. Philippines. 2004

(This poem was written by the abovenamed famous Filipino poet after a past typhoon wreaked devastation in the Philippines in the late 1990s.  It may very well described the tragedy in Romblon after the recent Typhoon Frank. The accompanying pictures are courtesy of volunteer Peter Barnett of New Zealand who was in Romblon at the height of the typhoon, along with volunteers Denise Dunn and Andrew Hudson and recorded the devastation immediately after.)           

More pictures from the Long Beach, Sugod, the Marine Sanctuary and Carmen can be found here.  

Volunteers start Romblon relief operations and fund drive

Following is an excerpt of CERV volunteer Peter Barnett’s (New Zealand) narration of the relief operation he conducted in his last days in Romblon immediately after the devastation of Typhoon “Frank”.

“I hopped off the boat from Romblon Island. Unfortunately the damage here in Tablas Island is immeasurably worse.

“This morning I visited the crew of a fishing boat that washed up in the marine sanctuary where I've been working. Four are staying in the barangay (village) hall across the rice fields from my host family’s house, with the fifth lying in an open coffin in a room a few metres away. It was the first body I've seen and I found it far harder than I imagined. I can't imagine what it must be like for his family (who arrives this afternoon) or for those of the ferry (MV Princess of the Stars where more than 700 are feared drowned off Sibuyan Island, Romblon) casualties.

“The coastal areas of San Agustin have been flattened. So many houses were blown away, as well as huge numbers of boats destroyed.

“It's been an incredible experience walking around today, the tropical paradise that had become home reduced to strewn rubble. The scale of the destruction is completely overwhelming. People are constructing shelters from rubble, or sleeping in the public stages by the basketball courts or in schools.

“Aid from the government will be slow to come, consisting of a one-off 2 kg of rice per family…

“The father of my host family is a member of the Romblon Red Cross, a respected high school teacher and a very decent and trustworthy man. I spoke to him this morning about the possibility of my raising relief money overseas and how it would be best distributed. He said that he and his wife would be able to distribute it among those most in need in our barangay and the one neighbouring it. I didn't raise any expectation, but I wondered whether my parents and family friends would like to donate some money. The exchange rate is such that any amount in $NZD goes a very long way, and the lack of any official or NGO help here means that anything would go immediately to helping out in a very real way – food, drinking water, shelters.

“’My father my emails on to other families who helped also, and I emailed them back to say that I managed to withdraw the money yesterday in Romblon. My host family
were amazingly coordinating the whole effort - 450 kg of rice, 300 cans of sardines, 900 packets of noodles, 75 kilograms of nails, 100 bars of soap! Also enough left over to help a couple of families in particular need - PhP 1000 towards a coffin for a family that lost their father and PhP500 for medicine for a man with blood poisoning after being hit by rusty roofing iron. It was an incredible gift from them and the Hennin family. And it was a real privilege for me to oversee its distribution. It is hard to put into words how far it went and how much it meant to the people here!’

“To which I got the following reply from my father John, who is a fundraiser for the World Wildlife Fund:

‘How rewarding it was for us to read of the amounts of rice, noodles and more that the money purchased. Thank you for setting it out so well for us to read.

“’As a fundraiser, it's the most extraordinary donor feedback, a closing of the loop, that I have ever seen, much less been a part of. Despite our trust in NGOs, there is an unfortunate and unavoidable element of uncertainty about how much gets to the need and about precisely what any individual's contribution to a pooled fund resulted in.

“’I think that is a point worth pushing - the current need is so great, and the help CERV (through donations) can offer is so practical, targeted and hopefully rapidly delivered, that through their donations ex-volunteers can do an incredible amount. Having so many volunteers 'on the ground' is also a huge advantage

“’As regards the website proposal below, I think something of that nature has appeal because volunteers can send the link to their family and friends, who have no doubt heard a lot about their time in the Philippines. I'm not sure how the pricing structures and establishment fees of PayPal, etc. compare, they would have the advantage of being based from CERV's website and increasing your branding efforts, though of course that could be integrated into a third party site also…Would be good to get it set up while the sense of urgency is still fresh.’

“Then my dad emailed friends from Fundraise Online, Limited to ask if it would be a possible for them to remit money direct to CERV if he pays the FOL charity registration fee and put a page up.

“FOL support manager Sharon Lee said their group ‘would be happy to remit direct to the Philippines if the abovementioned requisites are accomplished. She also raised he possibility of setting it up on the New Zealand and Australia sites of FundRaise Online.

”Now, I have left the Philippines but have committed to help with my family and friends.”

In Manila, Peter and the other volunteers helped in the relief operations of Sagip Kapamilya of ABS-CBN, the country’s biggest media network. Leighton Wood, Colin Lee-Chee, Denise Dunn, Jill Boike, Bette Luck, Robin Greenway, Kyle Engman and Line Pedersen packed rice, other food items, medicines, clothing for victims of Typhoon Frank in Metro Manila and Western Visayas. Their operations lasted for one and a half-weeks and have processed millions of pesos worth of relief goods. Leighton worked the longest, followed by Colin.

Before Peter flew home, he donated an additional PhP6,500 for relief food items for San Agustin. Robin added 200 Canadian dollars, which she raised before flying to the Philippines. Canadian health volunteers Sharon Gershony, Edward Brooks, Rachel Han and Juliya Iosfina donated 100 Canadian dollars each for medicines.

The CERV secretariat and some former volunteers like Malcolm Trevena are hard at work setting up the online petition for FundRaise Online.

We are calling on all former volunteers and others for help. Succeeding updates and news items to follow