Christmas Light!

Meet A.G., an eleven-year-old girl living in Barangay #89, the district in Tacloban where World Renew is concentrating its efforts. This well spoken, outgoing and friendly young girl approached us to ask where we were from. She was quite chatty and eager to talk about her life. A.G. loves school, English is her best subject (86%) and Math is her least favourite.  She is eager to return to her school that is still in need of repair and is presently housing evacuees. She asked to be our friend on Facebook and although she does not have a computer, she previously used an internet café in town – now destroyed. A.G. and her family were caught in the Typhoon. Five children and 3 adults took shelter crowded into a small concrete washroom called a C.R.or comfort room) and survived! However, she shares sadly that two of her cousins died in the storm.

A.G. acted as our escort to see the Barangay Hall where meetings were previously held. We heard that, in the week following the storm, it was used to store bodies until pick up was possible. As a result, people have not wanted to gather there now. As we were walking, we encountered a young couple holding their one-year-old baby. They were burning two candles near what was left of their home in honour of their two children who did not survive the storm.  A.G. and the other children who had tagged along stood quietly with us as our accompanying colleague said a prayer with this family in Waray Waray (the local language). After this, A.G. delivered us to the Barangay’s new headquarters consisting of several small tarp covered structures near the only accessible street. At the end of our visit, A.G. sweetly said: “Goodbye, thank you so much for coming to help us and Merry Christmas”.

Captain Melba is the Chairwoman of Barangay #89.  She and her elected officers and volunteers from this district of 989 families, have also had their homes either severely damaged or completely destroyed and their belongings washed away. Yet they spend every day “manning” their station.  Many of the Barangay members come here for help and various NGOs come to discuss and deliver needed assistance such as food, water, tarps, tents, solar lamps, cash for work programs and psychological first aid.

This week we were blessed to be able to deliver generators to the four divisions (“puroks”) within Barangay #89  – just in time to provide some light for Christmas.  Prior to delivery, we had asked the people to form committees of three women and three men to regulate the use and care of each generator.  This included the choosing of fair and optimal locations, maintenance of the machines and coming up with a plan to recoup refueling costs.  In each location we also provided a chain and lock to secure the generator and a power bar to recharge their flash lights and cell phones. After adding gas and oil and explaining how to start their new generators, the cord was pulled. There was cheering and clapping and great rejoicing!

In one location, a woman was cleaning the plug of a string of Christmas lights that had been installed prior to the Typhoon and “sort of “survived.  Only one bulb remained intact but seemed symbolic of the spark of hope remaining in this community. Christmas can still be celebrated, even in a small ways!

We ourselves, not even being able to imagine celebrating Christmas in these circumstances, received a special gift at one of the hotels in the city that had survived with relatively minor damage.  The Leyte Park Resort and Hotel invited all international humanitarian aid workers to attend a concert by the Leyte Dance Theatre.  They performed several dances depicting loss and then one of hope with a traditional Christmas pageant.   This was a very moving production and we left feeling uplifted and reminded about the significance of the birth of our Lord Jesus.

Over Christmas, we are going for three days of R&R to Cebu – an island nearby. After adjusting to our new “normal” of destruction and debris, it may be a shock to experience an area unaffected by Typhoon Haiyan.

We wish all of you a wonderful and blessed Christmas season!