We were told there was going to be a storm – but we were not told about the kind of storm typhoon that Yolanda will leave behind. One day – all it takes is one day to eat an entire town’s crops, ravage a city of strong people, bring down a hundred year old church, and take away a lot of people who didn’t deserve to go.
I was sitting in the front of the computer doing my online writing as usual, when the clouds have turned from grey into an almost dark that the usual nine in the morning where the sun usually burnt me looked like it was still four in the morning. The rains started to lash, and yet, I kept on typing and typing, the flashlight charging beside me in anticipation of being used sometime within the day. My daughter and partner was sleeping in the room – this was a day where sleeping in was so tempting because the weather was cold and the bed was warm.
Then, the lights went out. Good thing I was able to save the article I was working on, and I went to the room and slept as well. While the three of us slept, other people in other places in the Philippines were fighting for their lives. Our parents, who lived in different cities, texted that they were okay and making preparations for evacuations in case something happens. We didn’t know how big the situation was until we got power the day after and saw the devastating results Yolanda left.
I was very grateful that I was in a safe place, and yet I was very sad seeing that a lot of people died because of this one day. It makes you think how one day can actually affect a lot of lives – drown it, take it and for those surviving, this one day will always be marked in their minds as the day that God gave them one more chance to live. The damage was so great that words are not enough to explain the picture you see in social media, in the news and even in the streets.
As I watched in the television with my daughter, we saw how strong the Filipino people are when caught between so many problems and how we all come together to bring back hope and happiness to those who have lost so much. Even relief goods and constant encouragement only have a temporary relief for the survivors – for what matters most is a roof in their heads and a continuous supply of love and support at such trying times.
How can they sleep at night when bodies of people whose relatives have not yet found them are sleeping endlessly beside them? How can they eat when the thought of relatives still missing keep circling their minds? How can they smile when their houses went down and they call the streets their home? But, maybe, out of all these horrible questions, I would rather ask myself: How can I be of help?
I took out all the clothes I didn’t need because I was too big for them and all the clothes my daughter didn’t need because she too outgrew them. Without much, these were the only things we could offer – and our prayers, and our songs of hope for those who still continue to cry in the winds that the strong Yolanda has left us.
Author: Maria Jevska Nicolau is a 23-year old trainer on sales excellence who has a long love history with writing and won many journalism awards at college and region. She has a one year old daughter and a baby boy on the way. She likes Harry Potter and it is her ambition to write a book.
Read from author at women page.
I was sitting in the front of the computer doing my online writing as usual, when the clouds have turned from grey into an almost dark that the usual nine in the morning where the sun usually burnt me looked like it was still four in the morning. The rains started to lash, and yet, I kept on typing and typing, the flashlight charging beside me in anticipation of being used sometime within the day. My daughter and partner was sleeping in the room – this was a day where sleeping in was so tempting because the weather was cold and the bed was warm.
Then, the lights went out. Good thing I was able to save the article I was working on, and I went to the room and slept as well. While the three of us slept, other people in other places in the Philippines were fighting for their lives. Our parents, who lived in different cities, texted that they were okay and making preparations for evacuations in case something happens. We didn’t know how big the situation was until we got power the day after and saw the devastating results Yolanda left.
I was very grateful that I was in a safe place, and yet I was very sad seeing that a lot of people died because of this one day. It makes you think how one day can actually affect a lot of lives – drown it, take it and for those surviving, this one day will always be marked in their minds as the day that God gave them one more chance to live. The damage was so great that words are not enough to explain the picture you see in social media, in the news and even in the streets.
As I watched in the television with my daughter, we saw how strong the Filipino people are when caught between so many problems and how we all come together to bring back hope and happiness to those who have lost so much. Even relief goods and constant encouragement only have a temporary relief for the survivors – for what matters most is a roof in their heads and a continuous supply of love and support at such trying times.
How can they sleep at night when bodies of people whose relatives have not yet found them are sleeping endlessly beside them? How can they eat when the thought of relatives still missing keep circling their minds? How can they smile when their houses went down and they call the streets their home? But, maybe, out of all these horrible questions, I would rather ask myself: How can I be of help?
I took out all the clothes I didn’t need because I was too big for them and all the clothes my daughter didn’t need because she too outgrew them. Without much, these were the only things we could offer – and our prayers, and our songs of hope for those who still continue to cry in the winds that the strong Yolanda has left us.
Author: Maria Jevska Nicolau is a 23-year old trainer on sales excellence who has a long love history with writing and won many journalism awards at college and region. She has a one year old daughter and a baby boy on the way. She likes Harry Potter and it is her ambition to write a book.
Read from author at women page.
