Super Typhoon Haiyan - Philippines
the adventures
"We have nothing left!"
Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall on 5 Nov 2013, and rapidly cut a path of massive devastation across the entire Central Visayas. While much of the world's attention focused on Tacloban, many other places were also devastated on an unprecedented scale.
In the immediate aftermath, I led a small Rapid Assessment Team (RAT) and quietly made our way to Bantayan Island, Northern Cebu. We visited many parts of the island and witnessed first-hand the scale and scope of Haiyan's destructive power.
A multi-NGO series of disaster relief missions soon followed our RAT mission. Through these missions, we brought much-needed medical and dental assistance, as well as shelter and water assistance to the local populace of Bantayan Island. They also enabled us a deeper appreciation of the Filipino sense of resilience and cheer, especially among the children. Importantly, such qualities helped to brighten an otherwise depressing post-disaster atmosphere.
My engagement with the people of the Philippines was not to be just limited to Bantayan Island. As one opened door led to the next, I found myself serving and befriending villagers in many other places, ranging from northern Ilo Ilo to Busuanga and Calauit Islands, located at the northern part of Palawan.
Here are three stories of my humanitarian adventures in the Philippines....
