The cost of creating a home

After supertyphoon Haiyan devastated much of the Philippines, many areas were inaccessible to the support which tried to reach them. Trees were down everywhere, blocking the roads which hadn't been completely washed away by the tidal surge. The basic Filippino house was destroyed. Made of wood, bamboo and leaves the traditional design is practical for the everyday wear and tear of sunshine and monsoon rain, but completely unable to deal with winds of nearly 200mph. Aid poured into the country from many different areas to help out the Pinoy people. Relief seems to have focused on the Tacloban area, where thousands of people died. The remainder lost their possessions, homes, and everything they knew and loved in their area. 

Damage and death reduced to post-it notes

Other areas were also severely affected, although they haven't received as much international or even national coverage due to a lower mortality rate. We went to an aid distribution centre in Coron town, where the workers explained that they had three days warning and they evacuated the majority of shore settlements to higher ground. This simple fact prevented the death toll from being much higher. One official theorized that they had the same warning in the Tacloban area, but devastatingly, many of the evacuation centers in Tacloban were at or only slightly above sea level themselves. Another fact that helped to save the residents of Coron is the high mountain range which protects the town from the sea  - the waves couldn't build up as high as there was only a mile or two of open sea in front of the town. Most of this is shallow reef, so together these facts made a big difference in keeping the destruction to a minimum. Despite these facts, the officials in the distribution center still estimated that 10,000 families on this part of Busuanga Island have been badly affected by Haiyan, or Yolanda, as it's known to the locals. All of these families have suffered either partial or total demolition of their houses.

The Glorio's house was completely flattened by Haiyan

 Heading inland, we visited the Glorio family, who have suffered a horrible loss - the destruction of their home and the loss of all their belongings. The Glorio family has worked hard to survive since the disaster; Tomas works usually six or seven days a week (as a laborer earning 225 pesos/day) so he has little time and even less money to spend on rebuilding. Lucita is a very busy housewife - with 7 children to look after, her days are filled with cooking, cleaning and washing, as well as the care of the youngest three who do not yet attend school. To make her life even busier, she is expecting her 8th child at the end of March. 

 Finding this family and knowing that we couldn't have found a more destitute, yet deserving family to help out was a stroke of luck. Their house is a ten minute walk from the paved road. The residents of the barangay believe that they haven't received government aid as their houses are not obvious from the road - nobody drives by and sees the destruction. If that's true, it's sad. However the signs of Haiyan devastation are everywhere. Massive trees have been levelled - on the 20 minute ride from Coron to the village there are two bridges we bypass as they were weakened/destroyed in the winds. 

The frame held together with twine due to lack of nails

Building the house has provided it's own challenges - although 10,000 pesos (approx 227USD)  is around the total amount we've spent, the challenge here is working out some way for them to sustain themselves after we've gone. Although we can buy kids clothes, school books and necessary building tools/materials at the moment, how can they afford these items in the future? We wanted them to have some way to make money - 200 pesos bought a lot of seeds which they can plant in their land (luckily they have unlimited water from a spring in the hills above the valley). This will hopefully give them access to cheaper food and a supplementary income. 

Over the weeks since Christmas I've visited the project a couple more times, checking up with the family and seeing the improvements they continue to make on their house. Sometimes it can be a frustrating process - we bought them a tap and connector to help reduce the water they get from the spring. Although they don't have to pay for the water, it's important to us that the water isn't being wasted - pouring down the mountainside without being used as it is in most of their neighbors' houses. Unfortunately the next time we visited, the tap was nowhere to be seen. Tita translated Lucita's response on the whereabouts of the tap; she still had it, nice and safe...inside the house. Apparently the kids had taken it off to play with and she'd collected it for safe keeping. I can kind of understand this - to a kid that's never seen a tap before it must be pretty exciting with all its moving parts, plus the fact that they all fit together like Lego pieces. 

Hard at work in the garden...or not

 Other times things have gone exceptionally well - Tomas was very quick to fit the roof on the frame after we sent the aluminum sheets to him. Lucita also demonstrated a certain shrewdness - after realising there was a limited amount we could spend on the project, she requested that we buy her a couple of bags of cement and a toilet instead of the sawali, as she knew her husband could make that when he has free time. In the meantime, they have used old boards and mismatched wood peices plus tarpaulin to make a rudimentary wall around the house. Lucita is now the proud owner of a bathroom (cement costs 280 pesos a bag and the toilet itself was 550 which was completely unaffordable to the family).


How to find a project of your own:

I met the Glorio family through asking a total stranger (Minda) if she knew of any families that might need help repairing their house from Haiyan damage. This was originally intended as a Christmas gift to my boat family - the money to buy each other presents would go towards the family's house and we'd dedicate at least one day (Christmas day!) to hard manual labour in helping the rebuild. Minda told me to meet her the next day, meanwhile she spoke with her sister, Tita, who lives in the same barangay as the Glorio family. They took me to visit four houses whose occupants desperately needed help. Although all 32 families in the area are poor, Lucita and Tomas seemed to be the most hard up - with nearly 8 children to support and little income to do it they had a heartrendingly desperate need for aid.
Of course, this was only successful because Minda and her family are very honest people - they all came together to help us with the project. The three sisters (Minda, Tita and Aida) all spent Christmas day with us helping , as well as several of the other days since. They all work for the local government in some capacity, as health workers, aid distributors and Aida is actually the Coron town court judge! 

How you can help:

Find out how PJ is working with locals to help them create a livelihood project for their futures.

Also consider the use of financial support programs, such as Kiva loans, which help manage microcredit to small businesses or individuals in areas where they might have difficulty in getting a traditional loan.  

Have a look at this facebook page which is about sustainable tourism in Coron.They have promised us to start a project in Balolo to help the general population of the barangay.

Lucita (38) with three of her children (2, 3 and 5 years) plus an older niece visits for the day

 Although the literal cost of this building is minimal, to the family it is priceless. They were so desperate to be living under their own roof again that they moved into the new house on Christmas day (before the roof was up). Although we can't help all the displaced people in the Philippines (or even come close, as it amounts to some 4.4million people) it feels good knowing that at least 10 of them have a home once again, as well as a stronger roof, more likely to withstand the next typhoon.  

Many many heartfelt thanks to everyone that has had a helping hand with this project;
the beautiful and genuine sisters Minda,Tita and Aida, for all their time and hard work. We really appreciate your involvement with this project, as it would never have been so successful without good translation. And of course, the fact that you brought us there! Thanks to all the boat family that have helped with different stages of this project: Petrina, Madara, Brian, Harpa and Matilda, especially giving up Christmas gifts in exchange for a day of hard work. Thanks to the unknown generous backpackers who gave us a donation for the project. Also a shout out to the inspirational Filipinos PJ and L. Alinsangan, who have already done so much to help their communities and will probably do much more.

Welcome to the Philippines!

We've finally made it. After a four day trip from Kota Kinabalu, we are now officially checked into the Philippines. It's the first new country I've been into, since Indonesia (some eight months ago) and so far, it's looking fantastic. Our first greeting in Filippino waters was from a speed boat as we were trying to pass through a small channel between some tiny islands. The boat came roaring up and the guy wearing camouflage (army?) warned us away from entering the 'protected area' ahead. There was a big gun lying handy in the boat...no arguments with this guy, then. We made a fairly quick about-turn and went via a different, slightly longer route. Sorry about the poor picture, I was trying to be subtle.

Puerto Princesa is considered the capital of Palawan Island, where we spent some time today, wandering around and getting a feel for our new habitat. It's an interesting mix of cultures. 'Jeepneys' are converted WWII vehicles that the US Army left behind - today they're used as small buses. 'Tricycles' are motorbikes with side carts attached (I asked how many passengers they can fit, and our first driver boasted 6*!) - something like the typical Asian rickshaw with a colourful twist. In fact, everything is more multicoloured here with a

fascinating blend of spanish language, Asian food and beautiful, fun people. Perhaps the biggest difference is the lack of covered heads, calls to prayer and minarets in the skyline. Instead, the people are almost western with their dress and strongly Christian as a nation, with a beautiful Cathedral dominating the approach to Puerto Princesa from the sea. From what I've seen so far, I have a feeling this country will take the place in my heart of best beaches and most incredible scenery. This will be a hard one to judge, but in a short time we've already seen karst mountains coming up dramatically from terraced rice fields in close range of spectacular coastlines. Apart from Burma, this is only the second country I've visited in the last two years that drives on the right hand side of the road. Crossing the road has suddenly become a lot more difficult for me and entertaining for everyone else!

Sadly, this is the only place where I feel like misinformation is a business - Petrina and Madara find the Philippines similar to India (although quieter and less intense) in the sense that everyone has a vested interest in the answers they give to your questions, so they tend to be biased. For example, our tricycle driver told us there were no more local buses to the other side of the island (although we later found out this wasn't true) which meant we'd have to take a more expensive minibus (which means he gets commission from bringing customers to his friend). I've never seen it to the same degree before (even in touristy Thailand) where you might come across the occasional scam artist or dodgy deal - here it seems to be the norm. Maybe as a result of this, the people here are not as outwardly friendly as the Thais, Indonesians or Malaysians. However, they are incredibly polite. Anyone that speaks to us, tags on "ma'am" at the end of the sentence, or even to get our attention. I've also never had a distinction for being a woman before - in Indonesia and Thailand it was "Hello Misterrr!", regardless of

your gender. 

The Phillipines were hit by the devastating supertyphoon Haiyan a month ago (or Yolanda, as it's known locally) - we've yet to see any signs of destruction, but we heard from the cruisers hanging out in PP that there were strong winds of 30knots but little else. As we head further north, we expect to see more damage, particularly on the island of Coron and the northernmost tip of Palawan. We  don't intend to head towards the area around Tacloban, where most of the damage was centered. The boat is carrying plenty of provisions, should we come across an area that has suffered badly and is in need of any help. 

Tourism is especially important to a country suffering from a natural disaster like this - it's a natural way for the Philippines to begin to rebuild and support itself, although obviously some care has to be taken to avoid the areas which are still suffering from collapsed infrastructure. Hopes are high for the adventures we'll have here - swimming with whale sharks? Yes please. Climbing into the crater of an active volcano? For sure. Paddling on an underground river through an extensive cave system? Already done. All of this, with less tourists around? Perfect! 

The phrase to get around the Philippines? Bahala na, or 'no worries'. This place is going to suit me just fine!

*Asian people, not us whities, duh.