Updates (2 of 2)

 

I'm going to begin this post with two apologies: the first is for having to be so secretive at the end of the last post, something I will rectify here. Secondly I'd like to apologise for what is about to be a rather long post while I fill in all the gaps - I'll do my best to be concise and promise to put in lots of pictures! 

So, to begin at the beginning: five days before we left for Singapore, Jen and I were asked to join a team of five volunteers to head over to Tacloban City, about two hours across the island, to set up a new project for the charity. In time the entire Leyte project will be moving to this, the worst hit area, and it was a real honour to be asked to be part of the team that opened the new base, prepared the living quarters and began work on the next stage of Project Leyte. The idea was proposed to me by the Volunteer Coordinator of the project at 6am as I stumbled across the Kananga Hospital driveway to make my morning coffee. The catch was that we left that afternoon. We would be given a total of six hours to pack up all our belongings, say some quiet goodbyes to those we would not see again and pile into a pick up truck to start what has turned out to be an adventure of quite incredible proportions. In fact, the situation intensified before it had even begun as we sat down for dinner in Tacloban that evening: there was a problem with our water supply at the new base, and we would have to find somewhere else to stay while the problem was resolved. We were incredibly lucky to be able to stay two nights with the British charity International Disaster Volunteers who were unbelievably accommodating to us in our time of need. They have a really beautiful base in Tacloban and I would definitely recommend them as an alternative to AHV for anyone who was looking into coming out here.

"Team Tacloban" - five volunteers and four staff members outside our new base in Barangay Santo Nino, Tacloban City. The raised shirt (extreme right) is a slightly bizarre local custom that we have come to relish.

On the day between our two nights with IDV we got to grips with what was to become our day to day work schedule. As a result of the extensive damage caused by Yolanda, and the new 40 meter no build regulations along the coast in Tacloban, over 10,000 families will have to be moved to new accommodation.  We have set about building a small transitional community that will house families in the time between now, and the completion of their new permanent houses. The idea is that the worst effected families will move in first and then a rolling system will commence; as one family moves into permanent residence elsewhere, another will move into the temporary coco-lumber shelters that we are currently working on. We then set about readying our new base (water supply issues resolved) by building an outdoor shower block, installing a generator and generally setting up our way of life by sourcing locals to do our laundry and cooking, and (Jen's domain) establishing the systems that we all have to abide by for smooth communal living. Strict rules have to be adhered to for 50 plus people to live together in harmony and if you even dream of wearing your work boots indoors, be prepared to feel a wrath like no other!

Gary and I building our outdoor showers with coco-lumber, the new build site in the background. (Apologies for the vest.)

 
Building the transitional shelters has been an immense challenge for a huge number of reasons: first and foremost we are a team of (for the most part) unskilled and inexperienced workers with little to no understanding of the construction industry. I for one had to be shown the absolute basics with regards to handsawing, toe-nailing and bracing and even I took on a team leader position within a week of working on site.  Jenny's architecture degree has again worked to her advantage and her knowledge of precision measurements, angles and structural integrity has seen her quickly become an integral member of the on site team. The second major issue is the timber; soft at one end, rock hard at the other, seldom cut straight, it splits when it's dry and crumbles when it's wet. With such a lack of consistency in our materials, getting one's head around building the shelters has been a difficult task even for the small number of experienced, skilled contractors and carpenters on site. That said, the priority is getting them up quickly and safely. These are, we regularly remind ourselves, temporary shelters and, even if they are not perfect, they are a huge step up from the living conditions suffered by those worst hit by Yolanda.

Last weekend we were taken to the water's edge on what has become known as "Seven Boat Road", so called because of the number of enormous ships that were washed ashore during the storm surge. A local man started talking to me and for the first time I was truly hit by the severity of the situation. He, who had lost no less than nine family members in the storm, told me that the flat parade ground on which we stood had, in fact, been the local gym and basketball court, complete with ten foot walls and metal roof. I would genuinely have had no idea there had ever been a structure in place there as the ship had gone through the building like a wrecking ball, taking people and houses with it before coming to rest in the middle of the road. It still sits there now, inhabited by survivors whose houses were caught beneath it.
 

Local teenagers continue to play basketball in what was once their local gym, levelled in the storm.

He also told me that he believes the reported death toll, currently standing at 6,201, is a deliberately botched report. If a disaster's death toll reaches over 10,000 then the UN take control of the relief effort, something, he said, that the government cannot afford to allow for fear of exposing their corruption. Whether this is the case or not, he voiced some extremely strong opinions about the government's handling of Yolanda. He was not prepared to be relocated into the mountains into structures like ours because his business and income lay in the city and believed that he would be forced into a new remote community he did not want to be a part of. We were relieved to discover that our shelters are only given to those who sign a request form after a brief moral dilemma. The situation regarding other such transitional builds and the implementation of enforced relocation to other remote communities is one that we are unable to find clarification on.  

A whole community has formed around and upon the ship that destroyed their homes.

On the same evening as our tour of Seven Boat Road we were then treated to a taste of what it is that makes the Philippines so special. In the same breath as telling me about the deaths of his family, the man by the water (whose name, regrettably, I never knew) told me that Filipinos always smile. And so it was that evening as the local indie music scene came together to throw a street party in honour of all he aid workers who had come to Tacloban. With free beer all evening and over fifteen local bands (from hip-hop to heavy metal) taking to the stage this was an evening I will never forget. The MC paid tribute to the many musicians and artists lost to Yolanda and the heavens opened upon us as he rallied the crowd not to rebuild what they once had but to 'build a bigger city.' The grit and optimism in this city, in the light of such incomprehensible trauma, is something that will stay with us both forever.

I speak for us both when I say that we have never been so motivated to work at anything as we have been since that evening and, despite us both having to take some time off sick this week, we have now completed work on ten structures and are getting faster and better with every day that passes. The motivation is further enhanced by our proximity to the people of the community that we work in.  Our new base is built around the local community centre; we use the main building as our communal and meeting space and have erected a massive army tent full of bunk beds in the neighbouring plot of land.

Army tent; bunk beds; home.

The local children are so used to having access to the space that they have become a huge part of our lives, screaming our names (RobbieJenny - one word) every time we walk by and endlessly wanting to play games, learn English and generally be as silly as possible with us.  It is at once a great antidote to a frustrating day at work and a huge inspiration to get the work done for the countless other children throughout the city who need a place to live.

Jenny with Gibreel and Lucita.

We have been experiencing some Biblical downpours, but I don't get too wet.

We are both beginning to fall in love with the city and the communities in Tacloban and I'll round up this post with another series of pictures. I have been asked 'What's it like out there?' by a couple of friends via email or facebook and the honest answer is that it is truly impossible to describe. I hope that some images can give an illustration of what we see and do each day.

Seven Boat Road

Early interactions with technology caught on camera. She is looking at an image of herself.

Impromptu evening boxing classes - will we unearth the next PacMan?

Propped up by cement bags, the ships washed ashore will be there for some time.

The height of local fashion.

The communities are so eager to show their appreciation for our work. It makes it all worth while. (Credit for 'The Earth Ink' pictures to Andrea, fellow AHV volunteer.)

The video on this link was made by a fellow volunteer and shows us hard at work in Kananga, I am hoping to be able to embed it in the post soon.

We both desperately hope that the blog, the photos and the video will inspire some of you to donate to our Just Giving page. AHV, and Tacloban needs as much help as possible and we would be honoured if you would help us to provide them with anything at all.


We will spend the next week continuing to work on the shelters and AHV is now assessing other projects in the city, which may mean a return to sledgehammering and rubble clearance in the next two weeks. Its unlikely that we will post again until then.

Thanks for sticking with us, I know that was a lengthy one!