Saved by the Tree

It was just like yesterday when super typhoon Haiyan pummeled our town and turned everything upside down and brought our people on their knees. It was on the fateful day of November 8, 2013 when super typhoon Yolanda ( international name : Haiyan), the most powerful tropical cyclone ever to hit land and perhaps the most powerful in recorded history happened. It’s been ten years and we have recovered.

We thank the world community for coming to our rescue. We are grateful for the humanitarian assistance that we received from various governments, the United Nations, non-government organizations, professional and volunteer organizations and individuals. You fed us, clothed us, sheltered us. We experienced care and compassion from strangers. We met new friends who took the risk of coming to the Philippines to share their time and talent to build temporary shelters, conduct psychosocial interventions, medical missions and contribute financially for the emergency response, early recovery and rehabilitation activities.

As a development worker, I knew nothing about humanitarian response. Super typhoon Haiyan thrusted me into a crash course and on-the-job training on disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) as well as humanitarian response.

I remember vividly when in the aftermath of typhoon, I walked, hitched ride and walked to look for the command center of the emergency response. I was exposed to the cluster system of the UN and decided to attend the clusters on education, health, shelter, early recovery and gender-based violence (GBV). Uninvited. No one asked me to be there. I just showed up. Upon learning how the cluster system works, I invited local organizations to attend the cluster meetings. I was managing a network of NGOs that time and managed to enter into a project partnership with UNICEF in Mobilizing CSOs in child-centered DRRM and safer school monitoring. In 33 towns along the Yolanda corridor. I engage the UN at daytime and volunteered with Kusog Tacloban, a volunteer organization after office hours and weekends. The nights were pitch black then., Electricity in the homes was restored after four (4) months.

I was able to go out and volunteer because our home was safe. With the grace of God, my family is complete and fed with the help of friends and relief workers.

Majority of the houses were destroyed. Our house remained, the only one in the neighborhood where the roof is intact.

Thanks to the old tree beside our house. The 50-year old star apple tree lost a huge portion of its branches fighting off the 1-minute sustained winds of 315 km/hr to defend our house.

The big old tree is still here. It’s my turn to defend it.