A journey of hope

CEBU, Philippines – Huddled in the office of Fr. Benjamin Sim, S.J., parish priest and adviser of the Sacred Heart Parish, were a group of friends – Ma. Belen A. Sim, Paul Sim, Jr., Adelina Artadi and Vitaliano Nañagas II.  They were replete with stories of their recent experience at the convention of benefactors and beneficiaries of the Help Yolanda project of the Stella Maris and Friends.

Obviously their hearts were filled with fulfillment, their merry banter infectious with the zeal for charity and service.

“We rode a big boat and sailed to five barangays along the coast of Daan Bantayan. Then other boats followed, cruising with us on either side waving and cheering with their families!”  exclaimed Belen Sim, her glee made her face shine.

On their boat they carried the image of Mama Mary.  With them were several other benefactors from Metro Manila and Cebu City who gathered to celebrate blessings in observance of the first anniversary of Typhoon Yolanda.  All along they were singing the Stella Maris Hymn.

Over 60 boats joined them at sea that bright morning.  There could have been  easily more than a hundred boats sailing at sea at that time, but low tides prevented some and the others were busy preparing for the celebration. 

The boats were part of the 107 motorized boats – each costing between P 30,000 to P35,000 – that were assigned and distributed on February 10, 2014, as donation from the Stella Maris and Friends to fishermen affected by Typhoon Yolanda.  The project covered five typhoon-stricken areas in northern Cebu – Maya (Dawis), Tomingjao, Talisay, Bagay and Borbon. 

There were over 230 boat beneficiaries, with two families benefitting per boat, receiving state-of-the-art motorized fishing vessels, to help them start over.

“We felt so blessed when the fishermen approached us to personally thank us,” said Paul Sim, Jr.  “You see when we’re in Manila, we donate but we do not see the beneficiaries. But here it was different. We met the families. We saw how our efforts help make things better.  We realize we really did help.  It puts a face to the project.  It makes things real.”  

At the aftermath of the devastating storm, the volunteers of Stella Maris and Friends thought of helping by donating some five to ten boats to the victims.  “But it just kept on moving by itself,” recalled Fr. Ben Sim. 

After the group turned over the first batch of boats, they already thought of an exit plan of how to turn over the boats and the project to local institutions.  But more people asked for help – and more money kept on coming in. 

“So we reached more than a hundred boats!  It was very small at the beginning, but like a mustard seed, by God’s grace it grew bigger and bigger,” Fr. Sim said.

The group initially planned to tap local builders from northern Cebu, but the boats they were capable of building were of lesser quality.  So they ended up making the boats themselves. 

The Sacred Heart Parish Mortuary was turned into a boat factory.  They hired workers from Carcar City and used wood coated with fiberglass.  The shaft and the nails were made of bronze and stainless steel.  They ordered engines from Metro Manila – 7.5 horsepower engines; a big improvement from the 5 horsepower engines the northern Cebu fishermen usually used.

But it was more than just boats that were offered by the volunteers of Stella Maris and Friends – it was a form of evangelization.  Twice a month for the past year, the group held seminars in values-formation with the fishermen and their families, teaching them responsibility, diligence and cooperation.

Rey Albarina, one of the volunteers from Sacred Heart Parish, related how one fisherman announced that he never went to mass before, but after the formation, he was now going to mass every Sunday.  Albarina also observed that the fishermen, when deprived of boats after the storm, managed by using improvised styrofoam boards with a lamp atop to attract fish or else simply swam with their nets to fish.

The  “Bayanihan”  spirit was likewise encouraged with the provision of larger boats, thereby introducing them to the concept of having two to three families working together.  The project was done in cooperation with the Maya United Fishermen’s Association, and a careful search for clusters of two or three beneficiaries was conducted, which included the personal home visitations by Stella Maris and Friends volunteers. 

“Sweat equity” was required of the families, who contributed some of their time and effort towards the making of the boat, particularly in the final touches of painting, finishing and installing of the outrigger.  The fishermen were guided as well on the responsibilities toward nature, especially the sea and are discouraged from doing any destructive illegal fishing. 

Also, a day before the first Yolanda anniversary close to a thousand residents from five barangays in Maya, Daan Bantayan received free medical and dental care from 56 volunteer doctors from Cebu City.  The mission was a joint venture between the CLC from Manila and the Stella Maris and Friends. 

On the day itself, the fluvial parade jumped off from the Maya-Roro Port, after which a Thanksgiving Mass for the Feast of the Dedication of the St. John Lateran Basilica was held at the San Isidro Labrador Parish Church.  Then everyone proceeded to the Maya Elementary School for the Agape Breakfast.

The convention proceeded with an entrance march of the five delegations of fishermen, an invocation, welcome remarks and an introduction of benefactors and beneficiaries. The keynote speaker, Foundation for the Philippine Environment Visayas Regional Manager Dr. Myrissa L. Tabao, stressed the fact that the Philippines is the center of marine bio-diversity in the world and the Visayan Sea is the center of marine bio-diversity in the Philippines; inspiring a greater sense of responsibility and stewardship among the fishermen to protect the seas. 

A community lunch followed with presentations from the beneficiary communities. A raffle draw was conducted, with prizes such as blankets, raincoats, fishnets, styrofoam storage boxes, solar lamps and 5-kilo packs of rice.  The convention closed with prayer and blessing.

Everyone chose to celebrate God’s blessings instead of recalling the horror of the disaster.  Misfortune turned into an opportunity for blessing and growth. 

Fr. Benjamin Sim. S.J. concluded, “Beyond the pains and tragedies brought about by the super typhoon Yolanda, there was another force more powerful – the force of love and concern from all people all over the world that responded with heroic generosity, not only in material donations, but also in personal volunteer service.”