MYNP helps Pablo victims

I followed the story of Typhoon Pablo and how it affected the lives of so many in the provinces of Compostela Valley, Agusan del Sur and Davao Oriental. And while I was moved by what I saw, I must admit that there was a sense of disconnect — possibly owing to the desensitizing effect of seeing the tragedy unfold on television.

Or maybe it was just that, having grown up in Samar, I was used to typhoons and didn’t fully appreciate the power they had to cause such widespread devastation — especially on communities which had never experienced storms and floods in the past.

Now as it happened, Pablo hit Mindanao just a few days before Make Your Nanay Proud (or MYNP as we like to call it) formally had its first meeting with its Council of Advisers. So you can only imagine how the conversations that night were filled with the desire for MYNP to take an active role in helping those affected to get back on their feet.

While we were gathering data to determine what help was needed, MYNP made the decision to focus on two of what we felt were the most pressing problems — education and livelihood.

In Agusan del Sur, where no deaths were reported, the typhoon still caused the dislocation of around 30,305 individuals and about P375M in damaged infrastructure, mostly school buildings.

I spoke to Gov. Bong Plaza and he was almost teary-eyed in describing the aftermath of the typhoon. “The people of Agusan are very fortunate that our province was spared the full force of Pablo. But still, going around the day after the typhoon hit, it was hard to imagine how years of development could be wiped out overnight. Roofless school buildings, gymnasiums torn down, houses blown away — it was an unbelievable scene.”

I was able to visit one of the hardest hit barangays in the province — San Isidro in the municipality of Trento — during a trip last January. Its public school, which was established in 1907 during the Thomasites period is one of the oldest elementary schools in the Philippines. Typhoon Pablo destroyed most of its classrooms aside from causing extensive damage to several other school buildings.

It was touching how the whole community — led by Gov. Plaza and Mayor Johnmark Billanes — came out to greet us and make us feel welcome. It brought home so many memories of my own childhood growing up in Samar. Seeing all the happy, expectant faces of the kids that trailed after us as we entered the rain-soaked grounds of their school, I could imagine myself in their place.

Our trip was organized with the help of the DepEd, namely superintendent Dr. Cruzita Montejo-Taala and Dr. Amy Madamba-Ronquillo, who were both instrumental in bringing the problem to MYNP’s attention. As a result, we were able to raise initial funds to donate five MYNP classrooms and P100,000 in cash for livelihood enhancement and training for the women’s cooperative of barangay San Isidro.

After a simple lunch prepared by the parents and teachers of San Isidro, the MYNP team proceeded to the provincial capitol of Compostela Valley where we were welcomed by the charming Gov. Arthur Uy. And even if it was the first time we met, there was a familiarity that, I can only guess, comes from a shared purpose of helping those who need it the most.

While in the company of the good governor, he filled us in on the extent of Pablo’s effect on his province. He showed us a short video compiled by his staff — and for 15 minutes we all stared, transfixed as the raw images of people Pablo attacked in all its fury.

Remember how I said that my experiences in Samar have somewhat inured me to typhoons — well, seeing those images of utter devastation and the genuine fright and bewilderment on the eyes of the people made me see how truly life-changing Pablo was to these communities.

One of the most moving scenes for me was when an old man was pointing to and describing where the former barangay Andap stood. In its place was nothing but rocks and boulders — without a single trace of the lives that used to thrive there. Gone. All gone.

We left Compostella Valley with a heavy heart and a resolve to add more to MYNP’s P100,000 cash donation to Gov. Uy’s fund-raising campaign, and the 1,000 relief packs that we were able to distribute (special thanks to Sen. Loren Legarda and DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman). Watching that video and listening to Gov. Uy’s anguished narrative of the sad state of his provincemates, I promised that we would find a way to donate five MYNP classrooms for the students of Compostela Valley.

When we first thought of forming MYNP, it was with the vision of building a better Philippines by tapping into each child’s innate love for his or her mother. By advocating that we make our nanay’s proud by becoming the best of who we are and the best in all we do, we ensure that Filipinos will become more conscientious and more concerned with the welfare of the community as a whole.

Our trip to Agusan del Sur and Compostela Valley — short as it was — reinforced my belief in the rightness of this cause and my determination to make my own nanay proud by lending my voice and all the resources at my disposal to help all those who continue to struggle to get ahead in life.

To the people of Agusan del Sur and Compostella Valley, sama-sama tayong babangon muli.