(Note from the Editor: AsAmNews blogger Ariel Neidermeier has landed on Leyte in the Philippines to begin her work to help rebuild the typhoon struck areas following Haiyan. Today she gives us her first impressions as she embarks on her journey working with All Hands Volunteers)
By Ariel Neidermeier
It took 2 plane rides, an extended stop over in Cebu City, and a three hour ferry ride, but I made it to Leyte island in the Philippines (Photo of Leyte countryside near volunteer base camp by Ariel Neidermeier.
From Cebu City, you can catch a ferry to Ormoc, a port city on the west side of Leyte. In Ormoc, I caught a jeepney – an open-air public bus – to Kananga, where All Hands Volunteers has set up it’s volunteer base camp and hub of operations. From there, they deploy groups of volunteers to various projects around the island. These range from rebuilding schools and homes to taking down the walls of broken hospitals to begin the reconstruction process.
My immediate thoughts on the state of Leyte island post-Haiyan are grim. On the drive from Ormoc to Kananga, which is located inland, on the west side of the island, we passed countless buildings missing roofs and walls; downed powered lines that have been left tangled in destroyed building and shrubbery. In the worst cases, the houses were simply a pile of rubble on the ground.
Driving through the countryside, I also noticed that all the trees look odd. The coconut trees that dot the horizon of this tropical place look spindly and bare; with whole fronds missing. The trees are also bowed in unnatural positions, with leaves bent and twisted. You can clearly see the ravages of the wind and rains from the storm.
From the Kananga headquarters, All Hands is deploying groups of 5 to 15 volunteers to various rebuilding projects that need assistance throughout the island. I worked on a project digging foundations for a community of permanent homes called Rotary GK Village. The project is sponsored by Gawad Kalinga, a organization that sets up rebuilding projects in local communities in the Philippines.
Community members are chosen by lottery and able to pay for their houses through labor.
So, if a family works a certain amount of hours, their labor translates into the price of the house.
For roughly eight hours, we dug 80 meter trenches and 50 meter holes to prepare for the laying of the
foundation blocks for a tract of three houses. We worked alongside the Filipinos who are working
on their own homes. In this hot, humid climate, this is back-breaking work. It’s necessary to take a
break every 30 minutes and drink excessive amounts of water. I have a new found respect for manual
laborers, to say the least.
The children of the village watched and giggled at us as we worked. They were incredibly interested
in knowing our names, ages and origins. All of them were lively and friendly. By the end of the day, they began yelling “Ate Ariel!” (Ate translates roughly into ‘Big Sister.’ It’s a term of endearment
and respect) whenever I walked past. Honestly, the only thing that gave me the motivation to continue working under the hot sun for hours were their happy smiles.
Today, I’m continuing on to Tacloban to join a new base of volunteers who will be working on projects outside and around the city. All Hands is slowly transitioning its main base to Tacloban and a group
of 7 of us are joining the small group of volunteers that are already there. While Kananga and
Ormoc City felt the damages of the heavy rains and winds, Tacloban and its surrounding areas on the
east coast of Leyte, were hit directly by the storm surge. I know the damages on that side of the
island will be much worse than here.
Stay tuned for more information about Leyte post-Haiyan and what I find in Tacloban.
RE: AsAmNews blogger arrives in Leyte. Begins work for Typhoon Haiyan Relief: Glad you made it safely. Looking forward to reading more especially since you’ll be going to Tacloban and perhaps you’ll get deployed closer to my mother’s hometown.
Update from @ANeidermeier on Journey to Philippines via Twitter: Arrived in #tacloban. The damage is widespread and extensive. Most buildings missing roofs in and around city.