A message of hope

TRENTO, AGUSAN DEL SUR — Over the past four days, we’ve traveled almost the whole of the province to see for ourselves the extent of devastation Typhoon Pablo left to most, if not all, of the residents here. I’m part of a delegation from the University of San Carlos, composed of the Society of the Divine Word priests, Office of Community Extension Service officers, student leaders and writers, who like other entities, took the time to empathize with our brothers here few moments before the New Year.

I have already seen footages on TV of Pablo’s widespread destruction in the eastern parts of Mindanao but to witness its aftermath up close and personal provided me the kind of perspective that certainly affirms how ruthless Pablo had been to these disaster-stricken areas. Reports have considered these parts of the country a ghost town after the typhoon ransacked most of the standing palm, falcata and lawaan trees, and let me attest to that as well — these places still look like a ghost town at this very juncture.

In the vastness of its lands, you could see trees knocked down; others managed to survive the ordeal but their branches either flipped down, washed into the river basins, or their once verdant leaves now bowed in humility. Everywhere you could see logs of all sizes and ten-wheelers transporting them to lowlands. By the roadside, corn plantations have turned into marshlands, swept by floods overflowing from local rivers. And while some rice paddies have now been replanted, locals are actually still having a hard time looking for the new palay. Plus, some townsfolk lost their farm animals to flood; carabaos, for example, are now a scarcity in some of the communities we visited.

But what impressed me amid all the negative occurrence was the radiant positive outlook of the people.

Believe it or not, anywhere we went, people greeted us with warm smiles. An old lady I interviewed lost completely everything they had but said it didn’t matter as long as they’re alive and breathing, then anything can still be restored in time. Another mother could not resist shedding tears as she walked me through the day when the tragedy knocked on their doors.

All these individual stories I collected from people whose lives and livelihood Pablo stole away should only make me feel even more blessed for myself and Cebu having been spared from the catastrophe.

And for these reasons, it became even more imperative for me to help in whatever way I could and show them there are other people out there willing to spend a day or two with them. Yesterday, we distributed relief goods amounting to over P4 million to at least five communities here, namely Santa Maria, La Paz, Binucayan, Loreto and Veruela. These places are under parishes which are run by the SVD, the same congregation that administers the University of San Carlos in Cebu. Everybody knows that the packs of rice, noodles and canned goods we gave to the victims would probably carry them across for just a day or two, but the very thought that we took the time to go to their places and share in their burdens aptly sends the beautiful message of hope for the coming New Year.