Tags: Inspirational Stories, non-government organizations and foundations, Typhoons and Natural Disasters
By Nikka Garriga
ILIGAN CITY, LANAO DEL NORTE - Teachers from Northeast 2-B Central School in the town of Digkilaan can still recall preparing for their annual Christmas party a few hours before Typhoon Sendong made landfall.
“The weather that morning seemed normal so we went on preparing for our gathering. None of us had an idea that Iligan was already placed under Signal Number 2,” recalls Merilyn Sacayle, Grade 1-A adviser.
But by nightfall, things started to turn for the worst when the downpour became too overwhelming and the floods started to rise.
“It didn’t take long before the school was at waist-high flood. Communication lines went down, so we had to wait until the water subsided before we could go home,” Merilyn adds.
Their town was isolated for about a couple of weeks and relief operations had to be done by air to supply the residents with food, clean water and clothing.
Forty days after the onslaught of Typhoon Sendong, remnants of the deluge are still evident in this community. All classroom equipment and materials are barely functional save for the concrete buildings.
But while many would wait for help to arrive, the teachers and the townsmen pooled themselves together to rebuild what was left and clean their school.
Classes began at exactly January 3 though the students had to be subjected to stress debriefing sessions as mandated by the Department of Education (DepEd).
Non-government organization Plan International Philippines and the European Commission-Humanitarian Aid is continuously conducting psychosocial therapy activities for the children besides providing them with school supplies.
School principal Jasmin Tampos points to the inner strength and positivity of residents who were able to survive such devastating catastrophe.
“It brings us great comfort knowing that our family is still complete. We are very much thankful for that and this gives us strength to move forward,” she says.
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