Thursday, December 22, 2011

More Stories

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 - Day 2

Dili ta mag-ilog! Let's wait for our turn,! a city official yelled over the microphone when some evacuees broke the line and went for the bagged goods containing mats, blankets and food items. After president Aquino left, city officials went back to the auditorium of the Iligan City National High School to ceremonially receive an additional donation of PhP1.5 million from senator TG Guingona.  Entering the hall, they saw the brief scrimmage that had caused albeit minor injuries, but much dismay to the organizers and to many of the evacuees themselves.

Some 500 evacuees from a nearby evacuation center await the arrival of president Noynoy Aquino at the Iligan City National High School.


Na unsa man na ang imong ti-il?, what happened to your foot?, I asked a pregnant woman at the MSU-IIT evacuation center.  Siguro pag-languy nako naa ko'y na patiran nga ha-it o lansang, I must have kicked a nail or a sharp object a I swam, was her reply.  Mga patay naanod, many dead bodies where   washed away, she added. Akong papa naa pa sa puneraria, mahimo kaha namo kuhaon,? do you think we could retrieve my father's body from the funeral parlor?  I replied that I don't see any reason why that was not possible and advised that she inquire with the organizers at the evacuation center on the process.

Then came on the loudspeaker, kadtong tanan nga na-ay samad anhi na mo dinhi sa atubangan sa stage kay taga-an namo ug anti-tetanus shots, all those with open wounds, please gather before the stage as we will now be administering anti-tetanus shots.  After which she stood up, and I bid her well as she limped her way towards the stage.

The gymnasium of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) is home to some 2,500 individuals from 500 families.  The university opened its doors to residents who fled from the floods in the nearby village of Santiago early on December 17, Saturday.  MSU-IIT officers, volunteers and City Social Welfare and Development office personnel attend to the various services for the evacuees.



I met three City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) office workers, and one from the DSWD Region 10 office who have been severely affected by the floods.  But in spite their predicament, they have continued to serve others in need.  My utmost admiration go to CSWD Iligan city head, Grace Saguilabon, and district supervisors Joy Mangumpara and Precy Maghanoy.  The young male DSWD employee shared that he lost almost everything, except for some of the clothes that we could still wash.  I asked how he is coping. He said that he still have some personal effects in nearby Cagayan de Oro city,  and added with a smile that he goes through the stress debriefing process by himself.  And so far it was just turning out fine.

1 comment:

  1. Sir Telibert, Daghang Salamat sa imong pagtabang sa katawhan.We pray nga kaloy-an ka kanunay sa atong Ginoo aron daghan ka pang matabangan. God bless you!

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