Doomsday

 Child survivors of Typhoon Bopha fear on December 21

“I hope there will be no eclipse that  will happen this December 21,” child survivor of Typhoon Bopha, Jason says. This has been a Christmas hope and wish of 8-year-old Jason shared during the child-friendly space activity in Agusan del Sur.

“There will be darkness then animals and people will die. I don’t want to die yet,” Jason adds. Child survivors have been afraid and would not even want for December 21 to come.

In the last typhoon, happened almost three weeks ago, Jason almost lost their home due to the heavy rains and strong winds brought by Typhoon Bopha which later on brought floodwaters in their village. “(Typhoon) Pablo was so strong that we lost our roof. We were so wet and just prayed to Jesus that He will stop the rains and winds,” Jason adds.

Typhoon Bopha left a trail of destruction in Jason’s village.  Most of the houses were totally destroyed and even Jason’s school making them uncertain on when they can be back to school.  Piles of logs and muds also surround their village.

“Most families left their homes and are staying on the mountains because they are afraid of the rumors of a three-day total darkness, earthquake and flooding. Villagers don’t want to experience the same distress Typhoon Pablo has brought to them,” World Vision staff and a resident of Agusan del Sur,  Yani says.

In the culmination of child-friendly space this afternoon, children draw their fears in the paper plane as a sign of letting go. “The paper plane is a child’s expression of letting go of their fears and sending their prayers to God,” World Vision’s child-friendly space facilitator Gria says.

“In most of child survivor’s artwork, most of them drew umbrellas, houses and water. This is because they are still in distress and as of the moment these children have been experiencing heavy rains,” Gria adds.

World Vision sets up child-friendly spaces for children affected by Typhoon Bopha in Agusan del Sur and Compostela Valley. It is a psycho-social intervention for children that aim to bring back children’s lives to normalcy by expressing their  feelings, experiences and thoughts through dancing, drawing, singing, and playing.

Aside from child-friendly spaces, World Vision provides food, non-food, water and purifier of water from Procter and Gamble to those affected by Typhoon Bopha . World Vision targets to reach out to 10000 families in Compostela Valley and Agusan del Sur through food, non-food, water, shelter and livelihood assistance.

boat mishap in a crocodile-infested river

The jerrycans rescued by those men who saved us. Photo taken by my communications colleague, Kuya Jay Mijares. 

Our boat capsized and blue-colored jerrycans immediately scattered as they floated away in the river. And in less than a minute, men jumped in, braving the deep and murky river while we hold on the side of our capsized boat for our dear lives: This scene keeps flashing on my mind until now. It was a close call since I know for sure that I do not have any swimming skill at all.  I was thinking how could I ever get out of this?

It has been so vivid to me because those men are affected by the devastation brought by Typhoon Pablo. They are the very people whom we seriously considered helping since last week as we respond to typhoon survivors  here in Agusan del Sur. 

But I never imagined that those people who we are reaching out are the very same ones who will save us from this morning's boat mishap that we experienced. 

When our boat capsized in a 10-ft-deep Simulao River at around 9:00 o'clock this morning, me and my colleagues along with the nurses were supposed to head towards the floating village where indigenous people live within Agusan Marsh, to bring clean and safe water to them who were isolated by the flood waters. It is a crocodile-infested river where Lolong, the biggest and longest crocodile in  the world was rescued.  It is a village where people are in  scarcity of clean and safe water. 

Unfortunately we were not able to make it as our boat sank.

Our rescuers were so brave that their courage makes me more courageous and determined  to go to the floating village despite the experience we had this morning. Those people in the village are waiting for us and we will continue to respond and save them from sickness brought by unsafe and dirty clean water. 

They saved us and now is our turn to save them as a  gratitude  to those brave souls in the village who risked their limbs and their lives to save us. And of course thank you to My Ultimate Buddy-God- for His divine protection, I felt it. 

The team prepares the jerrycans with community volunteers as we were about to travel by boat for an hour to the tribal  floating village. 

Heading to the floating community with this 10-feet deep and murky river. 

My colleague, Kuya Jay Mijares, after we were rescued by the villagers. 

Boatmen/villagers retrieve the sank boat.

The team after we were rescued.Thank God everyone is safe. 

World Vision staff health workers try to salvage those medicines after the boat capsized.

The gears which were soaked in the murky river. 

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