The Spirit of Volunteerism

CEBU, Philippines - In less than a month, the Visayas was battered by two calamities – the magnitude 7.2 earthquake last October 15 and the super typhoon last October 8 – which left thousands dead and millions homeless.

Countless structures, including heritage sites like the century-old churches in Bohol and Cebu, were not spared by the earthquake while houses and buildings in Tacloban City and Ormoc City were either ripped off the ground by strong winds or washed away by the storm surge.

The devastations scarred many a pride and rendered countless hopeless, but they have also proved to be tests of character and brought out the hero in many people.

Reynante “Rain” del Socorro and his girlfriend, Josida “Jai” Genilza, are just two of the thousands that lent time and hand. A day after the massive earthquake, the couple immediately launched fundraising activities and generated P5,000 for the survivors in Bohol. With the help of friends from the Knight-Stewards of the Sea, Inc. (Seaknights) and Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team (AMURT), the money soared to P200,000.

Both accountants, Rain and Jai initially planned just one trip to Loon, Bohol but more and more donations even from abroad, both in cash and in kind, poured in that they were able to send help to quake survivors in the towns of Danao and Sagbayan.

Barely three weeks later, the couple was wrapping up the small operation when Yolanda’s wrath tore through Eastern Visayas and the towns in northern Cebu. It was, they realized, not the time to stop.

With friends from AMURT and Seaknights, they rolled up their sleeves once more and packed relief goods, sending in two occasions at least 3,000 food packs and necessary items like oil lamps and blankets to Kintarkan Island, a part of Santa Fe town in Bantayan Island. Days following the typhoon, they distributed fresh bread to survivors in the north. 

“I realized that each of us has a duty to serve humanity. One way of expressing our love to the universe/God/life is to help those in need,” says Rain who was trained by AMURT in relief operations the past two years.

The urge to help people in need was also fueled by individuals who continue to pour in aid, he says. “The pouring of donations was impressive…the fast networking and partnerships of different organizations and the sense of collective sympathy from everyone.”

He recalled how a few sacks of rice and boxes of noodles would multiply in a few hours that they had to ask the help of the Philippine Navy or the Philippine Coast Guard to transport the items to the recipients. 

Rain said it also helped to have friends from various fields like Fr. Tito Soquino, OSA who has connections with agencies like the Philippine Navy and the PCG and Engr. Romy Cabading of the Seaknights who provided the group with transportation in Bohol. Cabading’s brother, Engr. Jojo Cabading, helped in logistics in Cebu and extra sacks of rice and canned goods when the donation fell short from the target. Another friend of the group, Fr. Charlie, who is based in Cavite, also sourced out funds and sent the money to support the initiative in Cebu.

Rain says he felt it was his duty to help “especially I am capable of doing so.”

Jai, for her part, shares it was her early exposure to sufferings of other people that led her do volunteer work.

“When I was still a little girl, my dad always bring me to trips where, aside from seeing the beauty of the world, I encountered very old people who work tremendously hard in order to eat and survive, beggars, handicapped, orphans.  Those exposures made me feel contented with what I have and also pulled in my capacity to be of service to others,” she says.

She shares it was in college when she joined the Tilipunan Community that helped deepen her spirit of volunteerism through its humanitarian programs like mass feeding activities and medical missions.

“So came the earthquake and Yolanda, I was very much ready to take a risk, roll up my sleeves and serve according to my capacity,” she says.

One of her most memorable experiences while doing relief efforts post Yolanda was the trip to Madridejos town in Bantayan Island. Jai says they were distributing relief goods when she saw two women nursing their babies just three blocks away. The women looked as hungry as everyone else, Jai recalls, but they told her they could not risk exposing their newborns to the extreme heat of the sun. They said they would just wait for their husbands who have gone away to look for food. Jai thought bringing relief packs to the women would be unfair to the survivors who fell in line under the heat so she decided to volunteer to watch over the babies so the others could get their share.

Perhaps it was the best decision she made at that time, Jai says, because not long after the two mothers returned, their husbands arrived empty-handed.

“At that moment, I was thinking of the people from far away areas where relief operations have not yet arrived. I wish they had survived,” she says.

“I volunteered. I offered my service because I have the capacity to do it.  I know that my help is needed.  I have a pledge, that I will serve others according to my capacity, as long as I live.  Nothing can compensate that feeling of fulfillment when you are helping.  In giving, I feel more than thrice the happiness I feel when receiving,” she adds.

Days after Yolanda hit, a team of college friends, mostly women, also braved the three-hour drive and unpaved roads to northern Cebu to distribute a truckload of relief goods.

“Yolanda relief operation in the north of Cebu was very memorable. While onboard the Canter truck, a motorcycle with two riders were trying to chase us. When they caught up with the back of the truck they told me, “Gai mi’g tubig, ‘day.” All they wanted was water. I felt very emotional because I had taken water for granted yet people here have gone for days without water to drink,” writer and public relations specialist Mara Cantonao tells The Freeman. 

“It is not exactly survivor’s guilt but more like the feeling of being responsible for your own people. And with our heavy use of social media, the information of the gravity of the devastation in other places have reached us in real-time...this enabled us to react very quickly and to identify the places where to go. I did it because through social media, I realized the ineptitude of the government in the aftermath of the catastrophe, so private individuals like myself took it upon us to bring relief to the victims that we could reach right away,” she says.

When not at work, Mara does volunteer work for Balay Samaritano, a shelter for the homeless, where she brings food and play games with homeless children.

“I volunteer because I have free time and I want that time to be productive not only for myself but for other people who might need my services as well,” she says.

Roxanne Cabusas was also in Cantonao’s group the first time they visited the northern Cebu after Yolanda. At that time, she brought her small car and loaded it with toiletries and toys for the children there. It was not Roxanne’s first time to help as she was also among those who brought boxes of noodles, canned goods and sacks of rice – sometimes even cash – for quake survivors. Her inspiration, she says, is her child.

“I have always been a passive person until my baby boy was born. He is the reason why I am doing this. I’d like to believe that if these things happen to me then I can rely on my fellowmen to help my son most especially if I’m gone,” says the operations manager of Convergys.

Roxanne said hearing sincere “thank you’s” from the victims was a memorable experience to her. She even offered her house to a family from Tacloban City for a year – rent free.

Thousands have fled to Cebu from typhoon stricken Leyte and Samar, but authorities didn’t have to appeal for help from the private sector, as various organizations and private groups would take turns in feeding the evacuees.

Necitas Balanza of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7 says because of the many volunteers, they had to schedule the visits to avoid duplication. Balanza was assigned in Guadalupe gym, which temporarily served as an evacuation center.

Innate

Dr. Joy Gerra, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) anthropologist, explained it is an innate character of a human being to help a fellow in need.

“It is in cultures all over the world nga naa gyu’y sense to help, nga naa tay self preservation, to see beyond yourself and help others. Because  you also need other people in your life,” she says.

The Cebuano level of helping is, however, on a higher notch, she says.

“Sa context sa atong mga Cebuano, language is a reflection of culture. We have magtinabangay, alayon. Hence, it is inherent in us to help,” she says.

And the Cebuanos have higher “empathy” as we have a “face-to-face relationship” with the people around us or even those who are far away, who may just be friends of someone related, she says. Gerra explains that everyone can empathize with suffering because it is an innate humane character.

“Even in Western societies, motabang sila kay naay empathy. Sa atoa, mas kusog kay naa ang teachings sa Christians, Muslim or whatever religion. If not, that humane response to emergencies. Hence kusog ang level sa bayanihan,” she says.

After the earthquake, for example, even if they did not have relatives in the Bohol, Cebuanos were quick to send help because apart from proximity, Cebuanos have since considered Bohol family.

She says the bond dates back in the early years when Boholanos would come to Cebu to trade their goods. Because of this bond, some Boholanos have migrated to Cebu and vice versa.

When the typhoon struck Eastern Visayas, Cebuanos and even Boholanos who were still reeling from the earthquake, did not hesitate to send help.

“We always help without being asked. It’s the ability of the human spirit to triumph difficulties,” Gerra says.

There are so many who want to help. It is because they want to alleviate the suffering of other people by just giving something to them, she explains.

Gerra, whose group, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) is also active in humanitarian efforts shares the story of a lady who, despite losing her house to a tornado when it hit the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue shortly after the Bohol quake, volunteered for the victims of Yolanda.

Gerra says the lady who had nothing but her strength wanted to help in packing relief goods, as she felt for the Yolanda victims more than herself. She says that even with what she has been through, she still has her family while the typhoon victims had lost not only their homes but also the people they loved.

“Regardless of social status or position sa society, taas ang atong level sa sensitivity. It’s our ability to preserve human life. Because we know at the final end, we really need each other,” Gerra says./JMO (FREEMAN)