Almost two months after Tropical Storm Washi (Sendong) hit, the devastation it wreaked is “old news” for the media, but for the many people, the devastation it caused is very much a reality from which they are trying valiantly to recover.
Housing and the loss of income are major issues. In the villages of Ponod and Pantar, the villagers have found a way to derive an income from the debris.
They have begun collecting stones to sell, carefully sorting the rocks from the pebbles. In a very real sense, they are using the rocks brought by the ravaging floodwaters that destroyed their community as stepping stones towards a better future.
“Poor people like us live very hard. We have no choice but to struggle and fight back the ravages of this typhoon,” said a father as he lifted a sack full of large stones.
Large parts of two villages were destroyed when the waters of the Kamanga river (Ramain river among the Moro locals) swept away the community mosque, solar drier and 50 houses. The villagers survived but lost all they had including crops and livestock.
The Kamanga river is a tributary of the Mandulog river that wreaked havoc on Iligan City displacing more than 7,000 families and killing hundreds.
“The stones sell according to their sizes,” said Ponod village chief Mangayao Langgoyo, holding up a home-made filter used to separate rocks from pebbles.
A sack of finer gravel sells for about PHP 18 (US 40 cents) if you hoist it near the river bank. The buyers sell them to construction businesses in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, about 20 kilometres away.
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has been working with the villagers, who are led by the two village chiefs, on their rehabilitation efforts.
It is offering assistance for permanent shelter in the two villages under the following criteria: totally damaged houses, safe relocation site, high economic and social vulnerability and strong interest in resettlement and rebuilding their houses. The community will contribute labour to build the permanent shelter, some locally-sourced materials and transportation.
JRS staff will continue to accompany the community as they rebuild and gather pieces of their lives and community in the next few months.
Source: JRS Asia Pacific.
To donate to the JRS project to help communities in Mindanao with their rehabilitation, click here.
Photo: Ponod village chief, Managyao Langgoyo, shows the homemade gravel filter used by people to sort and sell stones and pebbles.