The Philippines is hit by an average of more than 20 typhoons a year. A couple of years ago the country was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan, where more than 6,000 people died. In today’s newspapers we have been able to read about Typhoon Melor, which made its landfall at the small village of Barcelona, where Jennifer was born and where her and Mikee’s families still live. It wasn’t at all as serious as Haiyan, and only a handfull of people have died. But Jennifer’s mum (Mikee’s grandma), Luz, said she has never seen such devastation personally before.
A few years ago we built a new house for Jen’s family and this is now the only house still standing in the area. It was flooded and the window panes were broken but the house is still intact. All around them is utter devastation with houses broken down and homeless families without sanitation and food. Jennifer’s youngest brother got his house totally flattened by the storm. The storm surge reached four metres up. This is not the wave height, but the increase in water level compared to the normal high tide.
The high school is still standing and lots of people have got shelter in the school and others are staying at Lola’s (granma Luz’s) house. But the kitchen of the high school was destroyed and Luz is now cooking for everyone she can help in Barcelona. They are bringing the food to the school and everyone is helping. We had given our old clothes to Lola and all of it is now coming to good use for the homeless families.
Jennifer got some pictures via SMS, but the quality is very poor. I am enclosing some in my blog, so you can get an idea what it looks like. None of Jennifer’s or Mikee’s families are hurt but Riza hasn’t been able to be in touch with her family yet.
While this is happening we are happy hear in England preparing for Christmas. Over the weekend we have several parties at Knightstone. We are going to put out a jar in the entrance hall of Knightstone and ask you to please contribute a small amount for relief for the homeless in Barcelona. Jennifer and I will match all the contributions, pound for pound, up to a maximum of £ 3,000, and we will send the money to Luz for food and shelter for the homeless families. It will not go through an authorised charity, so you have to trust Luz and us that it is going to those in most need. We will send the money as soon as communications are restored and we hope it will be there for the 25th. Not that the exact day matters, but it is symbolic, if our simple gestures can reach those in need on Christmas day and bring some gifts of food and water to those in most need. We understand that for most of you this is just one of many natural disasters and you cannot be personally engaged on a deep level. But for our family, who know many of the people, who now are homeless, it is a tragedy that suddenly becomes very personal.
Jennifer, Eric and I are all going to the Philippines at end of January and we will be able to report back what has happened and how we have been able to contribute.
Please pray for those, who have become homeless in Barcelona and everywhere else in the world.
