Super Typhoon Haiyan - Busuanga & Calauit Islands, Philippines
the adventure
"We came expecting to give, but we received so much instead!"
Located on the Northern tip of Palawan Province, Busuanga and Calauit Islands are beautifully rustic, rural and quiet. They are, holiday and diving gems known only to a select few. They were also the places where Typhoon Haiyan made its final devastating stop, before turning North towards Vietnam in late 2013.
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Post-typhoon, Life! Community Development Singapore (LCD), the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) and Agape Rural Program Philippines (ARP) jointly undertook a series of community redevelopment projects to help the locals rebuild and improve their lives.
My mixed Filipino-Singaporean team and I were privileged to be part of this effort. Moving from one remote rural location to another was itself a challenging adventure: we experienced vehicle break-downs, long hikes on foot, navigating through jungles, riding on motorcycles and dump trucks, and criss-crossing the sea on local boats.
We ran a series of mobile community gatherings that offered much-needed mobile medical and dental services, eye check-ups and children's games stations. We had initially planned for just a low-profile mission. But, as word of our presence got around, rural folk from everywhere converged on our locations. Each community outreach event spontaneously took on a carnival-like atmosphere, filled with plenty of laughter, fun and conversation. We were just so pleasantly surprised at the extraordinary response!
And, as we served the locals and played games with the kids, many of the women folk from the villages gathered to cook for us. So, at every lunch, our team was treated to generous amounts of locally-caught steamed crabs, fried fish, and fresh coconut juice. Simple, but oh-so-delicious fare! Of course, we attempted to make payment every time, but the local barangay captain (aka village chief) always declined.
Our team had come to Busuanga and Calauit Islands hoping to offer some help and bring some joy to those impoverished communities afflicted by Typhoon Haiyan. But, we came away blessed by their simple and heartfelt generosity instead. This was truly one humanitarian adventure that every member of my team will cherish!
