Here We Are... to the Rescue!

The Philippines is one of the Asian countries that are always visited by typhoons. To date, it has experienced typhoons that affected not only the livelihood of the people but their very lives too. Many lives have been pawned because of these grave disasters. In moments like this, the rest of the Filipinos, who are less affected by the calamities, are extending their hands to those who are less fortunate by giving the victims the necessary things to mitigate the misery. This shows the culture of the Filipinos called “bayanihan”.

Last September 27 and 28, 2009, part of Luzon and a big number of the National Capital Region were bombarded by Super Typhoon “Ondoy” (Philippine name) which caused numerous houses to get drowned into the immense flood. As before, many people died. Their livelihood and properties were affected too, if not wasted at all. Nobody… nothing was spared - rich and poor, young and old, subdivisions and squatters’ areas alike. Indeed, they needed assistance from other people.

Hence, to respond to the needs of the victims, Tahanan ng Mabuting Pastol heeded the invitation of the Seminarians’ Network of the Philippines (Sem Net) to go to Ateneo De Manila University to help out the Task Force Undoy. The group was organized to extend assistance to the victims through massive relief and clearing operations on the sites gravely affected by Undoy. Through the task force, TMP community was given the chance to visit some areas in Marikina and Pasig to distribute relief goods. More so, the power of the youth was intensely highlighted I his moment which had proven that the future of the Philippines remains in the hands of the youth.

This experience of volunteering on this noble mission of aiding the needy is God’s way of uniting the apparently divided Filipino people. Of course, the experience of loss is painful. But in the long run, we will realize that there is a reason behind all this. The first is to teach us to value the environment; the second is to make us realize that despite the development of science and technology, we still do not have full control over everything and thus, we still need God. The third is to let us relive the spirit that binds us as Filipinos… bayanihan!

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This is written for the newsletter of TAHANAN NG MABUTING PASTOL