How to Overcome a Calamity

How does one overcome? How does one continue on with life? I'm back from Manila and already I'm exhausted. What more for those who have lost everything? How does one sleep at night on muddy ground with pieces of debris as shelter?

How does one wait? There's nothing else that can be done except to wait for clothes and food to arrive, if ever they were to arrive... From knowng to not knowing. From having to nothing. There were no goodbyes, no time to let go. Just as the day 26 September 2009 goes off never to return again so are lives changed forever.

This past week I've experienced the power of "overcome". A man lost his house in Isang Dakot, Payatas. Yet when we saw him at the end of the week, he was sitting in wooden makeshift home, next to the very house that had been washed out to the creek. How?

Maycool and Syndey lost their home. The floors can't be seen as it's covered in layers of mud. No one would have guessed where the kitchen, living room and dining room once were. Yet they came to Paaralang Pantao and helped sort the relief aid for the others. We would never have guessed they were victims of Ondoy who had to flee for their lives.

Yet not everyone is as resilient and as ready to overcome. How can they when they've spent their lives building their dreams into reality? Start all over again? Dream all over again?

There are many people who want you to dream and they want to help you make your dream a reality. Whatever Ondoy or earthquake or tsunami has snatched away... no one can ever take your dream away. After every storm comes a rainbow. You know what? It's up to each of us to give of ourselves so that the rainbow can be as beautiful as it was made to be.

acts29 wishes to acknowledge the efforts of people who have been part of that rainbow connection, to give hope when hope was lost.

1. The many who gave more than 300kg (and still counting) of relief aid.
2. Timothy Ho, Jeremy Nonis and Herman Lopez who collected and packed the aid.
3. Paul Goh, Colin Seet, Gerry Teo, Eward G who gave their time, their determination to get all our boxes on to the flight.
4. Terence and Phyllis Spykerman for the VAN!
5. Jasmine from Church of St Anthony's who dared!
6. Youth Ministry Office at CAYC who gave us the space for collection of aid.
7. Raymond and all at Caritas for their quick and effective support
8. Gerald the travel agent who's motto was "Fly us 1st, pay later!"
9. Catholic doctors who gave medical aid
10. Laura from Catholic Nurses Guild who never says no to all our requests!
12. Pascual Laboratories (Philippines) for medical supplies
13. Willie Cheng and ACCT for responding to our appeal for aid
14. Drs John and Priscilla Lee. What an amazing team!
15. Evelyn and family... for taking the 4000 purification tablets to Manila.
16. The logistics help at Payatas: Julian, Kuya Dave and Mr. Loydy.
There's no road you can't get to and no box too heavy!
17. All teacher volunteers at Paaralang Pantao who walk in the heavy rains, through the mud to get to the families. In the toughest of times, you still give big warm smiles.
18. The de-facto medical mission i/c: Dr Christine Carbon who has made the medical missions a possibility.
19. Cathy and Jay Reyes. You believe in prayer and you believe there's always a way.
20. May Batol, our beloved coordinator. Even in your medical condition, you have given priority to the relief efforts. You hopped into Paaralang Pantao. Your hop gave hope.
21. Fr Terence Pereira, our spiritual director, who dares us to dream.
21. Letitia B Reyes. For dreaming... for building... Paaralang Pantao (School for Humanity) for 21 years. Even when others have given up, you have never stopped dreaming.


Please note:
Collection of relief aid is on-going till Friday 9th Octobe 8pm. Drop off point: Catholic Archdiocesan Youth Centre, No2 Lorong Low Koon, Upp Serangoon Road. *LABEL all bags/boxes acts29

1. Blankets
2. Plastic Plates, Forks and Spoons
3. Clothes (Only Casual Wear)
*No office wear, winter jackets, revealing outfits, cultural costumes, swimming costumes, badly stained.
4. Slipppers/walking or rubber shoes
*No high heels, leather shoes, ladies' boots
5. Soap bars
6. family sized straw mats (not single beach mats) for sleeping

10th October Saturday evening community Mass
All are welcome
There will be a Eucharistic celebration at 7pm, Caritas 9th Floor (Catholic Welfare Building, Waterloo Street) to pray for the victims of Ondoy and Sumatra earthquake.
Celebrant: Fr David Garcia, O.P.

Pictures of Erap City after Ondoy and relief aid

On the way home on SQ 919

At an altitude of 11,887m & going at ground speeds 3 times faster than your usual F1 car, we sit comfortably after delivering almost 300kilos of relief aid to Manila. We had gone to see the damage by Ondoy in parts of Erap & Payatas. Houses near creeks were flooded and even knocked over. Livestock and valuables were swept away by the raging currents.
The children enjoy swimming in the muddy waters but the parents can only count the losses incurred. Most families continue to show the resilient Filipino spirit, swiftly moving on to rebuild their houses nearby and salvage what little remains.
We arrived on Thurs night and headed to Payatas.
On Friday, we assisted in the sorting out of the items. Families affected would be given 1 bag of rice with 3 cans of sardines and a bag of clothes. In the evening, the teachers in Payatas informed the victims that the aid could be collected at Paaralang Pantao. First to arrive was Baby Jane with her mum and brother, a familiar face indeed. We went on to distribute the food and clothes as Teen gave medical consultation.
Saturday’s upon us and everyone is preparing for Typhoon Pepeng (Parma) while we head to Erap to distribute the aid. Here, more families are affected and more need medical attention.
In the afternoon, we head out to assess the damage done. The once peaceful creek has now become a raging monsoon drain. And homes can be seen floating across the river. People can be seen crossing the river, wading through the currents. On another side, a house is seen partially on land, and the rest in the creek. Further up, in the home of teacher Maycool, we see more damage. Their 7 pigs & 5 goats were swept away as water levels rose and their home knee deep in mud.
Aid is slow to reach such areas and plans to rebuild washed-away homes is wishful thinking if left sorely to the government. Our presence is only a small contribution but my hope is that the family will be sustained through the unimaginably difficult period. We will now work to provide medication for the families.

Daryl Spykerman

Video of Ondoy hitting Erap City on 26th September

A sharing from Nadine Tolibas, friend volunteer (Paaralang Pantao)