A wake up call in the form of a catastrophe

I have never been this affected with a flood because I've never known anyone who was affected by a flood...until now. Some of my friends' houses were flooded, two of them lost (almost) everything they have, another friend's husband has been stranded in their roof for hours. I used to watch in the news people in provinces who were greatly devastated by a storm and I'm ashamed to admit that I never gave too much thought in their situations. You would think that such situations are remote until it happens to people you care. It was indeed a humbling experience, and more so, an eye opener. I wanted to do more than just sit and watch the heartbreaking conditions of our kababayan.

"There is no such thing as unselfish good deeds." -Joey Tribbiani

I volunteered with a few friends in Sagip Kapamilya last Sunday. We wanted to be deployed in Marikina or any areas affected by the flood, but when we got there they have had enough volunteers for deployment and not enough trucks. So we stayed in the warehouse instead and helped in carrying stuffs. It was overwhelming to see so much donations from corporations and private people. And to see the willing hands doing their share, however small it may seem, to help those that were affected by Ondoy.

As we all know millions of pesos are coming in from different corporations and private entities to foundations for the rescue operations and relief goods.( And I think these people have more trust giving their donations to private organizations and foundations than to the government.) I think its great when Tina Monzod-Palma said that the donations are not just going to relief goods but also to projects that are to help typhoon victims get back on their feet. Because even after the water has gone down and the mud cleared, way after the houses has been cleaned it will take a long time for the victims to recover from these ordeal. There is trauma in each and everyone, houses to be rebuilt, lives to mourn for. So I sincerely hope that these millions of pesos given to private foundations and the government (especially, those that were given to the government) will be really used for the victims. I hope they will be used to aid the victims get a hold of their lives again.

I also hope that this will not just be a nightmare that will soon be forgotten. I hope this will be a wake up call to the government. 19 boats?? That's all they have. Instead of spending money so their faces will be in the television, NDCC could have used the money to buy boats, trucks, or whatever equipment needed for disasters like there. Yes, no one expected Ondoy to cause this much disaster. But that's why the agency was created. So there would be immediate help when calamity strikes. And don't give us crap about not having enough budget. I could feel the blood going up to my face again, and I know there's no point in blaming because the damage has been done but I just can't help but to do so. One of our trademarks is our resilience to whatever storm that comes along, but that doesn't give (government agencies) to overlook their responsibilities. I hope that the government officials will at least feel a bit more guilty in stealing the people's money this time. I hope they would think twice before buying houses worth millions in US. I hope they will spend less when they travel abroad. I hope they realize how their constituents are suffering while they swim in their ill-gotten wealth.

And I hope that this will also be a wake-up call to each and everyone of us. It doesn't take a genius to point out that this is due to climate change and that something like this MIGHT happen again (although I hope not). So I hope we do our share in saving Mother Earth. Plant a tree, switch off lights when not used, use reusable bags in doing our groceries, clean up, throw trash in garbage cans and not in the streets, etc. I hope that it doesn't take another typhoon for us to wake up, get out of our comfort zones and do our share.

(Noticed that I used the word "hope" too much? Well, that's there's left to do. Hope)

Pictures are not mine. I downloaded them from various websites in the net.