6 days after super typhoon
Yolanda (Haiyan) hit the Philippines, my client-turned-friend Jenifer Martinez
invited me to deliver relief goods to her town in northern Cebu called Bogo, one of the hardest
hit areas in the island province of Cebu. While most media attention is focused on
Tacloban, Leyte, I felt I had to write about my hometown Cebu.
Photos courtesy of Rene & Roland Joseph Ybanez
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| Highway to Bogo and Hagnaya |
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| Kota Beach Resort, Bantayan - what's left of it. |
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| The cottages at Kota Beach Resort, Bantayan Island |
A week later, admittedly, our lives haven’t gone back to
normal. We try but it’s too hard to
ignore the huge destruction and harsh realities caused by the most powerful
typhoon recorded this year. Everyday we
see footages from CNN, BBC and local channels covering different areas of the
Philippines that were badly hit. People
are homeless and dying of hunger and thirst.
Those that have been spared, like us living in Cebu City, have been very
busy packing relief goods. Shelves of
grocery stores have been emptied.
Bottled water suppliers and rice dealers can barely keep up with the
orders for relief goods. Despite the
tragedy, it’s comforting to know that so many of us have gone out of our way to
help those in need.
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| Happy to help! |
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| Nov. 12, Tuesday - my office temporarily turned into a packing centre for Bantayan and Madridejos. |
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| Today's assembly line goes to Bantayan. |
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| Nov. 13, Wednesday - We leave work early to pack eggs at the egg kitchen in Kaona Grill, Lahug, Cebu City. Hardboiled eggs can last 10 days without being refrigerated. It can give instant nourishment to the hungry victims and won't require them to do any cooking (since water is scarce.) |
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| Nov. 14, Thursday, we load up the truck at Hyundai Cebu, and head up north. |
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| We convoy the truck bringing our relief goods. |
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| Along the highway leading to Bogo, you will see children holding signs up like this. (Photo c/o Christine Lim) |
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| At the Bogo Coliseum which has become the staging ground for relief operations. You will see that the galvanize iron sheets on the roof have been blown away by the storm. |
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| The Bogo City Hall has lost its roof. Glass windows are shattered. The sofa of the mayor is already on the ground. |
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| RAFI Relief goods distribution at Barangay Cayang, Bogo. |
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The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) is one of the legitimate non-government organizations (NGOs) in the Philippines.
You can deposit your donations through the following:
DONATIONS IN PESO:
Bank: Union Bank
Account name: Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc.
Account type: Current
Account number: 0027-8000-3279
DONATIONS IN DOLLAR:
Bank: Union Bank
Account name: Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc.
Account type: Savings
Account number: 1327-8000-0852
Swift Code: UBPHPHMM
Paypal Account: rafi_treasury@rafi.org.ph |
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| Mayor Juni Martinez (with his back in this pic) welcomes the Israeli doctors who have arrived in Bogo to set up a temporary medical facility. |
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| The Israeli doctors have arrived! |
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150 Israeli doctors have arrived in Bogo to extend medical help to all the victims in the north.
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Nov. 15, Friday - photos from Rene Ybanez going to Bantayan Island to distribute the relief goods.
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| Distributing the relief goods in Bantayan |
Kids lined up for hardboiled eggs. The smile on that boy's face is priceless! :-)
After having visited Bogo
yesterday and seeing the neighboring towns along the way, I can say that yes,
Northern Cebu needs help. But at some
point, they also need to get back on their feet. Relief goods are called so to temporarily
relieve them. Now it’s time to
rebuild and restore livelihood.
To all those who have helped in every way they can, to all the countries who have extended their aid, to my staff who gave their time (and strength), our clients, my yoga group, my high school friends, JCI Zugbuana, PIID, The Dancing Toes, my family and to the rest of our country.... A BIG THANK YOU!
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