To Leyte and Back on a Delica

Spent the last week mostly on my butt in a van travelling to Leyte and back. Was part of the FERDS team (the community development arm of Far East Broadcasting Company) that brought relief goods and trauma counselling to the evacuees and survivors of the St. Bernard mudslide. And no, I wasn’t a counselor (baka lalong ma-trauma ang mga tao!), I was of course behind the camera as usual.

It was a first for many things: first time on the RORO, first time to travel that distance by land (two days, one-way!), first time to be away from home for what seemed longer than a week. And the journey wasn’t without mishaps: both our vans had problems. Papunta palang nagpalit na kami ng belt nung isa. Pauwi naman, yung isa tinopak ang radiator and we had to water it every two hours or so. Yung isang van naman, nagka-problema sa electrical. We had several stops beside the highway on top of the mountain, with nothing but stretches of rice paddies dotted with coconut trees in sight.

But God was indeed gracious to us, and He protected us all throughout the journey. We were able to deliver the goods He sent us to bring. We also brought encouragement to weary Christian workers there who chose to be frontliners in the ministry to the evacuees and survivors who are now camped out in public schools. We were also able to evaluate the situation firsthand, which will pave the way for a second trip. And hopefully the video we have captured will be enough to inspire more people to help alongside with us.

You might be thinking we came a bit late. The truth is, in such crises, we came at just the right time, when the work is just beginning. Sabi ni Ninang Minggy, ang head ng FERDS na nag-coordinate sa aming team of volunteers, ito talaga ang style nila, ‘yung hindi makigulo immediately, but to survey the situation first and provide steady support especially when the excitement starts to wane.

Yung unang dagsa, maraming relief na darating from all over the world. Maraming media attention. Maraming pledges, heightened ang interest, mataas ang emotional involvement. But when the dust settles, what is left is the people who are still grappling with the reality that life must go on. And when their plastic bag of groceries and second hand clothes and mismatched plates and saucers are packed up with their hopes of an uncertain future, that’s when the rebuilding begins, and that’s when the work begins anew.

Kadalasan hindi na nare-report sa diyaryo o sa TV ang ganitong phase, and we will tend to think they’re doing fine by now, and go on with our preoccupation with our politics and our daily routines. Pero para sa mga taga-St. Bernard, the re-building of their community and their lives is an enormous undertaking that needs support from us. Hindi man kasing exciting i-report sa media, e eto pa rin ang kanilang realidad.