Most of the relief and aid came from the private sector
What makes a home?
This is a question many people in the island of Siargao have been wondering ever since the disastrous Typhoon Odette made landfall last Dec. 16. How do you rebuild a house after you’re left with nothing? In specifics, you need metal roofing sheets, plywood, coco lumber, lots of nails and carpenters, at the very least. It takes time, community effort, and lots of money—the latter of which, many island locals don’t have to spare.
Entire houses were flattened by Odette’s 270 km-per-hour winds. Some of them were crushed by fallen coconut trees, and many people were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. With no place of their own to sleep in, shower or eat, they were forced to move in with the few lucky families and neighbors of theirs whose concrete houses were spared by the winds. Either that, or create a makeshift shelter.
Some people were able to locate their broken roofs and used them despite the numerous holes that dripped cold rainwater on them every night. Others had only ripped trapal, or worse, old sacks of rice.
The people of Siargao are starting to rebuild their homes and lives through the aid of the private sector
Despite all the pain suffered at the hands of this calamity, one thing often heard among the locals afterwards was, “at least we’re all still together.” It took this catastrophe to discover that what makes a home truly a home was something no amount of rain or wind can wash away.
The family unit, the community love, the smiles shared around—those remained all throughout the post-typhoon days when we were just trying to survive. We clung onto one another, and helped where we could. With little to no assistance from the government, it became quite clear that many of the relief was going to have to come from the private sector.
(From left) Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Belle Alvarez , Jordan Valdes and Dan Gomez
Being in Siargao from the day of the storm until almost two months after, I witnessed many of my friends band together to bring relief goods and construction materials to the locals who did not have the means to buy them for themselves. Through private initiatives and social media donation drives, they were able to provide what the government wasn’t.
In less than two months, I was able to raise P710,000, all just through posting about the current situation in Siargao on my Instagram. I organized the delivery of construction materials from neighboring cities—Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, and Cantilan—and was able to distribute 1,330 sheets of metal roofs, 900 slats of plywood, and countless umbrella nails to more than 160 families in my neighborhood. With the help of my mom, I was able to distribute another 1,000 roofs to 100 households in Barangay Tawin-Tawin.
By raising funds for Siargao, the author was able to distribute 1,330 sheets of metal roofs, 900 slats of plywood, and countless umbrella nails to more than 160 families.
My current goal is to reach P1 million (or more!) in donations, to be able to continue the rebuilding efforts on the island. After personally visiting each house before giving out materials, it became clear to me that while roofs and plywood are much needed and appreciated, many people whose houses were completely flattened by the storm need more than that.
By raising funds for Siargao, the author was able to distribute 1,330 sheets of metal roofs, 900 slats of plywood, and countless umbrella nails to more than 160 families.
I want to be able to provide coco lumber to these people, as well as cover the labor for the rebuilding, and I need donations in order to do that. I also want to support my good friends at Buddha Siargao (@buddhasiargao), who are constructing homes one by one to ensure that those who need help the most can get it as soon as possible.
It can often be overwhelming to remember just how many people in Siargao are still left without proper shelter, which is especially deadly in the non-stop downpour of the rainy season. Though in the face of overwhelming heartache, there is no choice but to move forward, together.
(From left) Belle Alvarez, Hazel Trinidad-Alvarez, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Jordan Valdes and Athena Valdes
Please consider sending donations in order to provide homes to the locals of Siargao, who so very often share their island home to tourists without expecting anything in return.
Here are the donation channels in the Philippines: BPI (0329113671) Jordan Valdes; BDO (006868110057) Jordan Valdes; GCash (09175229331) Jordan Valdes. For donation channels overseas: Wells Fargo (6288628065) Jordan Valdes; PayPal (jaaapv@gmail.com) Jordan Valdes; Venmo (@Audrey-Prieto-1). Kindly place in the description that it’s for Siargao.
To keep up with the rebuilding efforts, you can view the stories and highlights that I post on my Instagram account @banannika.