Mayhem and destruction [2014-03-29]
Since our last blog post, we’ve had a chance to visit areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) and a magnitude 7.2 earthquake, both of which struck the Philippines in late 2013. We saw just a tiny slice of the destruction, but the stories we heard brought home to us how devastating these calamities have been for the Philippines. Nonetheless, the indomitable spirit of the people here continues to shine through in spite of these challenges.
Much of the Yolanda coverage that we’ve seen in the US has focused on the island of Leyte, and in particular the city of Tacloban. We were recently able to meet with friends from Leyte and hear first-hand accounts of the situation there in Tacloban. Even now, four months after the typhoon, the news is still dire; people are living in tents, and obtaining water and food continues to be a major challenge. Data suggests that Yolanda had the highest windspeed of any typhoon or hurricane ever to make landfall, including disastrous storms such as Katrina and Sandy. It will be years before recovery is complete. I know that there are many needs that pull at each of us, but do not forget the people of the Philippines.
Our home town of Compostela was sheltered from the brunt of the storm but northern Cebu is more exposed and thus also experienced extreme winds. So it was that two weeks ago, Neal and I joined with the IT teacher at Compostela National High School and Jade to travel with our good friend at Aboitiz to the northern part of Cebu. The Aboitiz Foundation kindly provided a driver and vehicle for our trip. Our goal was to begin scouting schools for possible projects for this summer and next year. We also dropped by two elementary schools that have been supported by Aboitiz in the past.
As we drove north, we saw increasing degrees of devastation. The tall, slender coconut trees seemed to fare pretty well, but almost every other tree was toppled. We even saw a large metal electrical pole that was bent in two by the force of the wind. Along the road, where the wealth (relatively speaking) is concentrated, shiny corrugated aluminum roofs signaled where huge numbers of old roofs had sailed away in the gale. We were sad to see a beautiful new covered basketball court and community center, sponsored by Aboitiz and completed just last August, was now a roofless tangle of metal. At one elementary school, our contact there told us about cowering under a mattress with his wife and children as the roof flapped and vibrated, eventually peeling away completely. It is hard to imagine what the situation is like further from the road, where money is scarcer and building materials less durable. However in a classic example of Filipino resilience and improvisation, we were shown a new storeroom at one school that was constructed out of odds and ends of debris from Yolanda.
It became clear to us during our visits that we needed to sharpen our criteria for identifying schools. We are looking for candidates who had computer equipment damaged by Yolanda but have facilities in place now to safety and securely house new computer equipment. We are also looking for schools that serve a large number of students. This may be a small set of schools, so the follow-up to this visit is to gather more data to find schools that meet these criteria. We will then down-select some candidates for site evaluation visits in late April.
Last weekend found us traveling to the island of Bohol for some R&R, since my brother was visiting from America. Bohol was the epicenter of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in October, just 3 weeks before Yolanda struck. In an incredible stroke of fortune, the earthquake occurred on a holiday so schools were not in session. Sadly some the beautiful historic churches were seriously damaged; limestone blocks stuck together with egg-white-and-mud mortar are not the best for surviving an earthquake. Again, we heard stories of destroyed homes and shattered dreams. Yet the people of Bohol are well into the process of repairing damaged roads and bridges, and the tourist attractions are open and welcoming guests. The smiles of the Boholanos continue to shine.
I suppose computer labs are not the highest priority when it comes to disaster relief, but we at Reneal IEO intend to help wherever and however we can. More news to follow as we continue to seek candidate schools to support this summer and next year.