From a blank, idle state, my mind was suddenly overflowing with thoughts; words, sounds, and images. Memories started rushing in, and dreams about the future started to surface. I was thinking about my mom, my lola, my siblings, my country, my friends, this pretty chick I met a couple weeks back, shit that I had to do, shit that I didn’t do but was supposed to, music, and a lot of other stuff.  For an hour or two, I was listening to the same song, and in that time span those thoughts just kept running, and running, and running. I kinda felt inspired. It’s like all my problems didn’t mean shit that night, like I was high on some shit. I felt free. Until finally my mind couldn’t take it anymore, my mind was tired, and I just crashed.

I fell asleep listening to that song, but the melody seemed to resonate inside my head, the lyrics steady played in my mind.  The title of the song is “Love”.

Around a week after Ondoy hit the Philippines, I was on facebook when a friend posted a link to an essay written by this one Korean dude. He was talkin about the current poverty issue in the Philippines. He expressed his thoughts through the essay and said that the reason why all that shit is happening to the Philippines is not because our government is corrupt and all that, but because we, the Filipinos, got no love for our own country, our own people.

Of course at first I was offended and pissed, I was hella cussing in front of the pc like I was actually talkin to the dude. But as I kept reading, I felt ashamed of myself (I was hurt actually) coz the dude had a point. He wasn’t right about everything, but he had a point. We lack that patriotism. It’s evident on how we act (or think, especially in today’s younger generations) as a people, I guess.  Gone were the days when kids sing the “Lupang Hinirang” and recite the “Panatang Makabayan” with honor and pride. Most of the kids nowadays only memorize the national anthem and pledge not because they want to, but because they had to, for school.  I even remember back in high school when I hated Filipino so much because I thought it was just a waste of time. In my mind I was like, “I already know how to speak tagalong, so why even bother study Filipino? I don’t need to be all deep with my tagalong anyways.” That was my mind state, and so was 80% of the class. We thought it was just another subject to get the students preoccupied and shit. Only recently (I’m more mature now I guess) did I realize that it wasn’t just about speaking the dialect right, it was about loving and being proud of it.  And it struck me that maybe the system dosen’t really teach us that, and it sucks coz I feel like the older generations have given up on the matter, like they just accepted the reality that times are changing but the systems still fucked up, and they teach us it’s easier to just go with the flow, “makisama ka nalang” as they say.  Or maybe they do try to, but like I said, were just tryna “go with the flow” coz it’s easier that way. Then all of a sudden, when it seems like things couldn’t go any worse, the flow gets interrupted.

Calamity and disaster hits. Lives were lost, properties destroyed, spirits were crushed. And even with all that happening, people still go about blaming hella shit on the government, blaming the “squatter’s” coz of their garbage. The well-off blamed the poor coz of their ignorance, and the poor blamed the well-off coz they feel like they never cared.  Everyone was pinpointing, everyone was blaming someone. It seemed like all hope was lost. Two nights after the storm I was watching the news and I just couldn’t help it anymore, I didn’t know what to do but I felt like everyone who was spared by the storm had to do something, I wanted to fuckin cry.

The next day I decided to help out with the relief operations coz I wasn’t really doing anything worthwhile. I don’t really have a day job, our gigs were all cancelled and rescheduled because of the flood, and I didn’t really want to stay home and do nothing coz shit is getting depressing. I knew friends who were helpin out at Ateneo so I stopped by to see what’s up. The first day was cool, didn’t really get to do that much coz the Ateneo Ondoy task force was overmanned; the volunteer jobs were limited coz everyone wanted to help out. I remember being so overwhelmed because of the amount of relief goods coming in from different people; students, corporations, normal citizens to famous personalities and rich families, and the amount of volunteers, both young and old, willing to spend their time sorting relief goods, carrying heavy sacks of rice, canned goods and bottles of water.  I’ve been to a couple of private households doing the same thing too, cooking food to give out, sorting clothes and shit, and once in a while, foreigners and strangers would come through bringing in more relief goods.

I’ve never seen so much dedication, so much compassion before. The saying “evil only prevails when good men fail to act” came to mind, coz everywhere I see signs of depression and disaster, I see good men acting, risking their lives, doing their responsibility as brothers and sisters. We’ve been to different areas where the typhoons hit the most (the most recent one was in Antipolo) and I feel that the gratitude and appreciation people show towards us is too much, so instead of saying “welcome”, we say “thank you too” instead.

IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY as Filipinos to help out our brothers and sisters in need anyways, and welcoming us with warm smiles, despite the situation that there forced to deal with, and not giving us a hard time to do so is enough reason to be thankful for. Just look at the children’s eyes, how happy they are to have a plastic bag of goods to take home to their families, a new bag or a new pair of slippers to use for their long walks to school, and you will hear the most beautiful, most heartfelt “thank you” ever. A friend once told me that the best feeling for her is the feeling of love; being loved, and giving love, that if the whole world had that then it would be a better place for us to live in. While some people would rather have both (giving “love” to receive “love” back), some are just content that they gave it away, coz they know that the person who receives it, no matter how small or big the package is, will treasure it forever.

So do we lack love for our country, our people? I say no, were just too busy tryna get by, coz we’ve succumbed to the reality that life is hard, its everyman for himself. The same friend told me that the storm changed her perception of things, of life. Well, it DEFINITELY changed my life. Because of what happened, I met new friends, learned the real value of life, friendship and family, saw beauty in the face of disaster, and most important of all, I found love.

Written by Gap Saldana

This was an interesting visit because there were only 2 of us, with no car, and 4 big bags of relief goods. With a servant’s heart and sweat coming from all over the place, we carried the goods across Quezon City to Pajo, a small GK community that was hit by Typhoon Ondoy.

We were able to buy blankets, vitamins, noodles, bread, and ube cake (dessert is always great!) for 20 families that were greatly effected by the Tyhpoon.

Ate Minda and her husband are the leaders of a community church that have been a light during this time of disaster. I contacted Ate Minda and she was able to go through the community and find the most effected families in their area. These are the families that lost everything and are starting from scratch.

At Ka Freddie’s, Freddie Aguilar reminds us to give these people names. To not call them squatters, because they are in their own land and deserve to be here. So my goal in visiting Pajo was to hear stories, to be story, and to share story with you.

Ate Minda, Keefe, and I

Ate Minda walked us through the community and told us how the flood unfolded in their community. As they watched the water rise they began to start saving people with what they had – a tire and rope. They stayed as rooted as possible while reeling people in who were becoming stranded. All day and night their church also fervently cooked rice porridge for community members who were hungry – even delivering it to people who were stranded. She was amazed at the intensity of the flood, and the realization that no one was going to come help them. I was blessed by her dedication through those days, and her continual dedication to the community.

the families came to the church to pick up the goods

story. one lolo had lost his entire house and was living with relatives. another mother had lost her pregnant daughter because when the typhoon hit, the house collapsed and the daughter and her child drowned in the river under them. one pair of fatherless sisters waited 3 hours in a tree (one child was barely 2 years old).

it was tragedy amongst us, but each story was told with a smile. it was amazing to hear their stories and to be able to give them something to help. i  know it wasn’t much .. but to them it was just another day of survival.

Written by bien

it was for pizza hut @ home delivery. (glad you made good use of your time here cuzzo haha)

yes it is true and dangerous. pizza hut, jollibee, mcdonalds, greenwich, chow king – they all deliver straight to your home (some even 24 hours a day). it seems like anything can done here, this is the Philippines. as i learn all the delivery numbers over time (and my stomach hates me for it), this past saturday i learned a new number: 643-0000: the number for immediate rescue and deployment to an evacuation center.

this past saturday night, theFOUNDATION members spent our time with the Philippine army deploying goods and humbled smiles to those in Pasig, Rizal who are still stuck in their homes.

after a quick visit to a local evacuation center, we were deployed to Pasig around 10pm. it was late, but we were determined and armed (with goods and nice army guns). as we drove to Pasig we watched the water rise around the army truck we were in. by the time we arrived to our first site, a subdivison of relatively nice houses, the water was waist deep.

passing the streets, i could not help but breathe deeply in prayer at the site of abandoned homes, businesses, and lives. questions, prayers, positivity, ideas, tears ran wildly through my heart.. what was life like for them now? what were these people thinking? am i really 20 minutes from my house?

the girls were sent out first. we got in a rubber boat and went down the newly made canal, a disasters version of venice, italy. there was no electricity. just 4 girls, the philippine army, flashlights, and mega phone. ate queenie made announcements saying that we had goods and slowly people emerged from the balconies and roofs of their homes.

they looked down at us with smiles, restlessness, appreciation, and that familiar filipin@ spirit of survival. we gave clothes and water. they screamed down to us their stories and how many families were left with them. they have been stuck in their homes for 2 weeks without electricity, clean water, and decent food. we floated down their street listening and giving them what we could..i’m not sure if our confusion, pain, and choked voices gave our hearts away – and im not sure if i’d rather them know they moved me emotionally or if i was supposed to pretend i knew resilience like they did.

after we gave goods to them, the boys were sent on the rubber boat with more supplies. but soon after they left, we were called to help in the truck because the water was deeper and the conditions were worse. in short, this street smelled like disease. right when the smell hit our noses we looked at each other and methodically tried to adjust to it. i struggled to not show signs on my face that the smell was getting to me.. these people lived in this, i refused to make them feel any worse about it.

it was unsanitary. it was a scene from most zombies movies i’ve seen. it was heartbreaking. lolas and babies stuck in their homes, waiting for any type of relief. as we drove down the street, we all tried to convince the people to leave. we all knew that people, especially babies, could not survive in those conditions. but family after family refused. we gave them the magic number 643-0000. for immediate and swift rescue, but i knew it was hopeless. i guess you can’t deliver everything.

im sure it is a mixture of things. trauma and not wanting to leave their homes. wanting to protect their things. unliveable evacuation center conditions. but what other choice do they have? i knew, we knew, that the dirty water surrounding their homes were infested with a slow death .. rising into their lungs, blood, and lives – but what could we do? they said the water is going to take 2 months to drain. 2 months.

in the end we emptied our truck of goods with a fervor i have never seen in us. if giving them bananas, clothes, and clean water was all we could do, we were going to do it right.

we drove back in silence. as always, we get to leave. we get to go home. we wanted to see the damage and we were right in it. im not sure what it stirred in everyone, but for me,  i knew that the work must continue. we are just getting started and we must not forget that just 20 minutes away, people are still suffering. its easy to forget, but as we continue to rebuild the foundations of our community, we stay connected and compassionate to our kababayan.

tomorrow we hit Pajo, Quezon City to deliver goods to specific families. saturday we will visit ground zero, Antipolo.

thank you for your continual support and love for this amazing thriving country

-bieN

After two consecutive days of going to different relief centers and deploying relief goods to different areas, we still decided to do it the next day. However, as the saying goes:  ‘When your body’s talking to you, better listen.’  We did listen and we took a seat for the day. Thing is, not all of us did.

At first it there were just the six of us. We went to Ateneo but the place was over-manned. There was a post there that a place called RFM needed volunteers. We went to RFM but unfortunately, one of the cars was needed to be sent home before sunset because one of its headlights was broken. Then luckily, another friend came by. From one car, we’re back to two. Two cars going to a place unknown but brave enough to tread it.

When we came to RFM, it was piled-up with relief goods but man-power indeed lacked. It was like a pile of sugar with an incomplete colony of ants.  We were immediately asked what we wanted to do. The famous phrase for us: “We want to be deployed.” We all wanted to extend help in the best way we can and deployment, we believe, is what we could offer. Only that every time we try, it really takes forever for us to do so.

Today was different.

It was amazing how quickly we were deployed. As we signed-up, no car or driver is written on the registration. They badly needed deployment even if we arrived around six in the evening. Problem is too many load, less cars.

Most of the bags of food and boxes of water would not fit in the car. An angel came, one of our friends came in with their truck. Deployment then was made possible. On our way, traffic killed time. To the point that we were being called a couple of times because the people were really getting hungry.  Gladly, with all the chaos, we got thru.

We went to Brgy. Bagong Silangan, Brookside (near the Marikina faultline). We got there around 9 pm. The road going there was very narrow and pain-staking.  Pain-staking because it hurts to see empty houses, clothes and people smothered in mud. As we passed by them, they were all looking at us not really filled with hope but with emptiness.

It took us a short time to move the goods to the site. It’s amazing though because three cars fed 300 people. I could only wish we had a Hum-v or a military truck so we could bring more. Most of the people thanked us for coming but truth is, they didn’t have to tell that. For somehow, we felt that what we did is nothing really of gratitude but just pure benevolence and just fulfillment.

Again point is, it doesn’t matter how many we are…

We’re humans,  it’s innate that we feel for others. It doesn’t matter how many we are,  if we move to show love, it can and will touch souls in ways that are invincible but mutual.

Written by Fatima Palma

Our first stop was to Ateneo de Manila in Quezon City to join up with the Ateneo Task Force Ondoy.  We had heard of a collection center that was highly organized and in need of volunteers at Ateneo and decided to give it a shot.  Team Canila arrived at Ateneo with 3 vehicles and 11 volunteers.  Upon arrival, we were surprised by the amount of volunteers that were already looking for work.  It was a true testament to the human spirit of both Filipino and foreigner.

After only half an hour of waiting, we were called up to be deployed.  We brought our vehicles to the deployment area and filled each with as much bread, eggs, juice, and water as we could and we were on our way.  The caravan took off and headed towards a small community in Fairview, Quezon City where we arrived at a Barangay that was sponsored by Gawad Kalinga.  Eventually, we ended up at a small chapel where locals, alongside GK members, were working to put together food packs (plastic bags full of food) together to be given out to the victims in that community.

First arrival - we began unloading our deployed items from Ateneo

Our mission was to separate all the food we were given from the collection center at Ateneo into individual food packs.  From those donations, we were able to create about 200 food packs!  The Gawad Kalinga group gave us individual bags of rice to pair with the food packs.  We loaded our vehicles again and we were ready to go.  A few of the local GK Leaders then escorted us by car to another community about 15 minutes away where we would drop off the newly-assembled food packs for distribution.

The short drive brought us to a bridge that served as the entrance to the community.  The bridge went over a river that obviously had been the major source of flooding in the area.  Passing over the bridge, all you could see in front of you was complete and utter DEVASTATION.  It was almost as if walking into a war zone.  Concrete buildings were toppled over.  The street was of a light brown hue due to the mud and murky waters that had covered it days earlier.  The residents had begun piling up trash and debris from the torn buildings on the side of the road.  Broken tree branches littered the sides of the road as well.

Garbage from flood-torn homes

A short drive through the community led us to the chapel.  We unloaded bottles of water, the food packs, and the rice packs and presented them to the leaders of the chapel who would be in charge of distributing the packs in an orderly manner to the victims.

With our mission complete, we decided to take a walk through the community to see firsthand the devastation caused by the floods.  As the sun set and it began to get dark, we realized that the entire community was without electricity.  One of the locals informed us that they had been without electricity for 3 days and had no idea when they would be able to get it back.  Walking by each house, you could tell the people were trying to be as resourceful as possible just to stay alive with what little they had.

The unfortunate scenes that we were all witness to on this day would wake us up to the stark realization that our work was not yet done and that there were bound to be many other communities in desperate need of manpower and donations.  Little did we know, Typhoon Pepeng (Parma) was on its way.

written by Ed Pascasio (San Jose, CA, USA / Makati)

]]> http://buildthefoundation.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/first-impressions-ateneo-task-force-ondoy-and-fairview/feed/ 0 buildthefoundation St Joseph the Worker Chapel Local street in Fairview, Quezon City One of the few buildings left standing in the community http://buildthefoundation.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/a-personal-account-of-typhoon-ondoy/ http://buildthefoundation.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/a-personal-account-of-typhoon-ondoy/#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:39:40 +0000 buildthefoundation http://buildthefoundation.wordpress.com/?p=17 ]]> check out ninoybrown’s blog [FOBBDEEP] where Bien Roque did a guest piece on Typhoon Ondoy

THE foundation is basically a group of friends who have one simple task: to help.

All the people involved in THE foundation are young people looking to help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy in the most direct way. We were all tired of simply watching the tragedy unfold and wanted to move in action to help our countrymen. So in it’s most basic and simple form, that is what we have been doing.

Daily, we have been volunteering, packing goods, visiting homes, and bringing necessary supplies to different effected communities. Our schedule consists of what is absolutely needed at the moment we meet and in turn is very sporadic for the most part, but we see quick results.

If you have specific needs for your family, community, self OR would like to be a part of this collective of movers trying to (re)build the foundation lost here in the Philippines feel free to contact us at teamcanila@gmail.com!!