While the rest of the world is gathered around a bonfire, opening presents, eating delicious feasts and celebrating the holidays, the same cannot be said in the southern part of the Philippines. Just a few days before Christmas, Tropical Storm Vinta hit some provinces in Mindanao and Palawan and have left damages and casualties in these areas.
According to recent reports, there are at least 420 people dead, hundreds still missing and about 180,000 displaced from their homes and taking shelter in evacuation centers. Majority of the reported fatalities came from Lanao del Norte, which is currently under state of calamity. Other areas that have experienced flooding include Lanao del Sur and Davao City.
Cagayan de Oro City (CDO), where some of AwayTeam’s online workers and staff are based, is also under state of calamity due to the damage the typhoon has caused.
We were able to communicate and touch base with one of our workers based in CDO, and she told us what had happened during those troubling times.
“We were in the hospital when the news came. My mom got admitted because of her high blood pressure. When it was time to check her out, it was the same day the storm hit the mountains. I had to take care of the hospital bills that day and rush home to pack for my family.
I took them to an inn for safety. Afterwards, I was going to go home at around 3 A.M. to check on a few more things but my mom didn’t allow me to go out.
Floodwaters entered our home from around 9 AM to 11 PM. We couldn’t get in our compound until after 12 midnight, after the water has subsided.
We lost everything except our newly gifted sofa bed, which floated. Everything else is soaked with mud and water; from my son’s books and clothes, to my newly set-up office, to all our cookers where we cook our local product. Those are just some of the things I could think of right now.”
While the storm has already left the country, so many Filipinos are getting by in less than favorable conditions in evacuation centers, spending Christmas and the first few days of the New Year without their homes, material possessions and even their loved ones.
This is why we are reaching out, to anyone who would like to help out not just the AwayTeam workers affected by the typhoon, but specifically people in Cagayan de Oro City and nearby areas. We’d like to multiply and grow what we have already started here, and any sort of help would be greatly appreciated.
Your assistance is going to go a long way in helping rebuild lives and giving people a chance to start over.
Send us an email or a message on our Facebook page to know how you can help out.
Photo credits: Maricel Eduave Tawacal, Rappler
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