Naejil's Feet

Naejil's feet before treatment.

When Super Typhoon Yolanda raged over Coron, Palawan in November 2013 it blew away the house that seven-month old Naejil lived in with his young parents, leaving nothing but the posts.  During a medical mission a few weeks later, Dr. John Tabije of CCT treated the baby for upper respiratory problems, then, seeing that Naiejil had clubfeet, recommended that he be brought to an orthopedic surgeon in Puerto Princesa City, the capital of Palawan.

Although he knew clubfeet are best treated within the first week of birth, Dr. John thought Naejil still had a chance of not having to spend the rest of his life painfully walking on the sides of his feet and suffering the emotional and social problems that come with such a deformity.     

Naejil and his mother, Alyssa, arrived in Puerto Princesa the week before Christmas and met up again with Dr. John . Another check-up revealed, however, that Naejil’s cough had developed into pneumonia and he needed hospital care.  He spent two days in a hospital. 

Mommy Alyssa holds Naejil
 tenderly as Dr. Catacutan
removes his casts after the fifth week.

Dr. Gerard Catacutan, the orthopedic surgeon who finally saw Naejil, recommended six weeks of treatment – the feet would be put in casts which would slowly coax the feet into a normal position.  The casts would have to be changed weekly. Mother and child stayed in the home of CCT volunteer worker Elena while Naejil was being treated. 

Elena, who accompanied Alyssa and Naejil during all visits to the doctor, says, “By the end of the third week we could already see that the feet were looking better!” 

For the last week, Doc Gerard said it would not be necessary to put the feet in a cast.  Instead, he fitted the little one with a special pair of shoes that he has to wear at night.

Naejil's feet after 
five weeks in casts.

Today Naejil is back in Coron and is nine months old. His parents are excitedly looking forward to that developmental milestone,  his first steps.  Thankfully, those memorable steps will not be made on misshapen feet.  And Naejil has an excellent chance of walking through life on two well-formed feet – and maybe even running!  

Note:  Naejil Vince Bura-ay’s medical expenses were covered by CCT.  Elena’s hospitality and care were rewarded when her child, who has rheumatic heart disease, also received medical attention from CCT.

Estancia Fisherwoman: Back In Business

Hope shines anew in Margielyn Gallardo's eyes. 

Margielyn with some freshly-steamed crabs

Crabs ready for steaming.

Margielyn's two new boats.

A dream house  damaged by Yolanda.

Seven years ago, Margielyn Gallardo and her husband began building their dream house. It was a concrete one-story building that sat on the western tip of Loguingot Island, right on the shore of this island barangay of Estancia, Iloilo. It had a tiled floor, a small terrace, and two bedrooms -- very different from the houses they had both grown up in.  From here Margielyn could watch the sunset, or look out over the water as her family's fishing boats came in with fresh catches of crab and fish.

Over the past 23 years, as their brood of children grew to seven, the Gallardos also built up their fishing livelihood until they had a fleet of 11 boats, each of which provided jobs for two or three nephews or neighbors. Part of the catch was brought to a  processing company where the crab meat was picked out of the shells, pasteurized, and exported.  

Then on November 8, 2013, Supertyphoon Yolanda slammed into Estancia, causing a storm surge and hurling a huge boat against the house.

The next day Margielyn found that she had no house. No boats.  Not even any fishing equipment. No nets.  No crab cages. "Wala kaming naisalba,' she states simply.

Margielyn is one of 36 members of the CCT Savings and Credit Cooperative who live and work on Loguingot Island.  Most of them are fisher folk. Others earn a living ferrying passengers across the water from the mainland.

 The island is home to about 300 families all of whom suffered  from Yolanda's pummeling.

Today Margielyn and her family have gone back to living in a hut with bamboo walls and a grass roof.  She may not be allowed to rebuild over what's left of her dream house. But still, things are looking good for Margielyn.  She recently received a loan of P70,000 from CCT and from the Bread from Heaven Christian Fellowship in Las Pinas City.  The church has a special interest in helping Estancia and nearby communities  rebuild their homes and livelihoods.

With this loan, Margielyn bought two motorized fishing boats and several dozen new crab cages. She is back in business, catching crabs and steaming them whole. (The crabs are then brought to the mainland and soon appear in restaurants  as crabmeat omelette or  sizzling crabmeat.)

And she can smile with hope again. 

Two months after Yolanda hit Loguingot Island, half of  the hull of a boat hurled by the super typhoon against the Gallardo house still lies on the shore.  Also shown is what's left of  Margielyn's kitchen.

Yolanda Aid Worker Story 3

 God’s Unexpected Provision

By Pastor Steven Dime

Pastor Dime (above, center) and Jay Johnson Go (below
wearing mask) in action in Tacloban. 

The main purpose of my journey to Tacloban City was to remind people that there is still a God who cares and continues to provide in spite of dire circumstances. But before I could remind people of this wonderful lesson, I learned firsthand that God has a funny way of first teaching us the very lesson we want to impart to others.

I grew up in Tacloban City but have since migrated to Manila and am currently pastoring Lighthouse of Faith Tabernacle in Makati City.  I was selected to be the operation manager of CCOWE Care Caravan (A conglomeration of Chinese Churches created for the purpose of extending Christian concern and love especially in calamity-hit areas) for our Tacloban relief distribution. Bro. Jay Johnson Go of UECP volunteered to join me in the operation.

We had two main objectives in Tacloban: distribute relief goods and scout for contacts from surrounding towns for future relief operations.

Knowing full well the dire situation in Tacloban City during those first few days after Yolanda hit, I had to mentally condition Jay Johnson. First, I told him to be prepared to live on a biscuit-and-cupcake diet only. Second, we needed to conserve our drinking water because we wouldn’t be bringing too much of it with us. If people saw that we had supplies we could get robbed on our way downtown. (We were told that there was no transportation available and that we would have to walk all the way from the airport to the downtown area). Third, there were no guaranteed flights back to Manila. We would be taking chances. Hopefully we could get to Tacloban, distribute our goods and be out of the city within a week. Hopefully our food supply would last that long.

We stayed at the Ritz Tower which is owned by a good friend of mine. The CCT team happened to be also staying at the Ritz. Our relief goods would not arrive for a couple more days. They too were waiting for their medical team to arrive and had nothing planned until then. We decided to offer what little help we could to the city vice mayor who put us on a dump truck loaded with relief supplies headed for Brgy. San Jose.   

That one relief distribution activity forged a bond of friendship between our team of two and the CCT team. Little did we know at that time that the CCT team was God’s way of providing not just our needs but a reminder that He still cares and continues to provide.

When Jay Johnson and I arrived in Tacloban, we only had two liters of water each and a plastic bag of store-bought cupcakes and biscuits, which, by the way, was not much. On the first day, we had to take small sips just to make sure our water would last for a week. We didn’t even bother eating the first day in the name of conserving food.

When Pastor Ed Gomez heard of this, he graciously invited us to join them for every meal. In fact, he was very insistent that we join them. Every meal, we got to enjoy freshly cooked food courtesy of the CCT team. We never prayed for it. We never asked for it. We were prepared to eat only biscuits and cupcakes for a whole week. If God could turn water into wine…we found out that He can also turn cupcakes and biscuits into rice and fish and chicken.

When the medical team arrived, I realized that they didn’t have a pharmacist with them. They had doctors, nurses…but no pharmacist. I have been involved with medical/dental missions since I was in college. And I understand the importance of having someone familiar with medicines to do the dispensing of medicines in a medical mission or people could get the wrong medications. Being a licensed pharmacist, I volunteered to man the dispensing of medicines.

It’s amazing how God puts two and two together and everything just falls into its perfect place like a jigsaw puzzle. Doctor Demy came up to me afterward and said that we were a great help. God allowed us to be exactly where we were needed.

After Jay and I distributed the CCOWE relief goods, the only problem left on our end was how to get back to Manila. By the grace of God, the CCT team rented a van and was going back to Manila by land. And again, by the grace of God, there was enough room for Jay and myself to hitch a ride with them all the way to Manila. And again, by the wonderful grace of God, the CCT team offered us a ride without our asking them.

Our God is really a God of wonder and provision. We went to Tacloban hoping to remind them that God cares and still provides. And in turn, we were the ones reminded of that wonderful fact! May all the glory be unto our God…the great Provider.

New Boat, Fresh Hope for Roxas Fisher Folk

Fernando and Isabelita Ibanada in their new boat. The
net is the only piece of fishing gear they were
able to salvage after the storm.

Fernando and Isabelita Ibanada of Barra, Roxas City go out to sea in the small hours of the morning, bring home fresh catches of fish, crabs, and shellfish, and help make Roxas City the seafood capital of the country. But when Yolanda battered their tiny barangay on the northern coast of Capiz, the only boat they owned was shattered, never to be used again. 

Today, a month and a half after Typhoon Yolanda struck, Tatay Fernando has hope as fresh as an early morning catch of fish and he can go out to sea again – in a newly-purchased secondhand boat. The Ibanadas and four other fishermen are the first of 33 boat owners to receive loan assistance for boat purchase or repair from CCT and Bread from Heaven Christian Fellowship (BFHCF), a church in Las Pinas, Metro Manila. 

The couple will also receive P5,000 worth of housing materials free from BFHCF  for their partially-damaged house. The boats and eight houses being rebuilt with assistance from CCT and BHCF were dedicated to the Lord in a simple program attended by families of the recipients and by Pastor Doy of BFHCF. 

Anna Mae Labanero, CCT regional peer servant, said, “By Janaury we will have 20 more houses and about four more new or repaired boats to be dedicated to God.” 

Labanero added that all 2,079 community partners whose houses were totally destroyed will also receive assistance in 2014. Recipients of micro finance loans from the CCT Savings and Credit cooperative are referred to as community partners within CCT circles.

Of the 1,905 CCT community partners in the province of Capiz, about 310 are in the fishing industry as fishers, vendors, or processors.

- with reports from Connie Defensor, Roxas City, Capiz

Yolanda Aid Worker Story 2: Unexpected Rescue

Dr. Demy (standing) and Dr. Pan Callanta in Tacloban, Leyte.

By Pastor Ruel Castino as told to Myra Gaculais del Rosario

It was nearly sunset.  Three doctors and two nurses in the  medical mission team I was part of  were rushing to attend to a few more patients before Yolanda-devastated Tacloban would  be plunged again into darkness. 

They were treating survivors at the Rizal Central School where several families had taken shelter during the storm. Earlier, non-medical members of the group, myself included, had shared the Gospel and given out Bibles in the classrooms. 

A little girl, about five years old, had been hanging around the makeshift clinic as the team did their work. To pay her a little attention I taught her an action song which she acted out with gusto. 

“So where are you and your family staying?” I asked her afterward.

She pointed to another building and casually said her mother was not well. 

I decided to go see if our doctors could offer the woman some assistance.  It turns out girl's mother had been in a small accident at the crowded evacuation center and was suffering from burns on her back.   But lying next to her was a child– not one of hers --  gasping for breath. This boy, about six years old, was more in need of immediate medical attention than the woman.    

In other circumstances I’m sure the boy’s father would have brought him to a doctor.  Or he would have at least gone to a drugstore for a few tablets that would stop the asthma attack.  But this was just 13 days after the super storm that had made life in Tacloban come to a standstill.  People had lost their homes, hospitals were ruined, transportation was next to zero, and the stench of dead bodies still under the rubble filled the air.  Perhaps the father had given up hope and was waiting for the inevitable to happen. 

But I knew there still was hope for this child.  I alerted Dr. John Tabije who said he  indeed needed to be brought to a hospital.  We were lent one of the few vehicles available, an army truck brought to Tacloban by Japanese aid workers. The first hospital we brought the child to was closing just as we arrived.  They were open only during the day.   Thank God the child was admitted to the second hospital we brought him too.

When we visited the boy before leaving for another Yolanda-battered area he was breathing much better and his father had lost the look of hopelessness on his face the day before.  (The woman with burns on her back also sought medical attention she’d been trying to put off.)

And that little girl I taught an action song to?  Perhaps she will never know the important role she played in saving the life of another little child at the evacuation center that day.  

Pastor Ruel Castino (holding water bottle) with a relief delivery team
in Leyte. 

----------------------

The Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries is committed to long-term rehabilitation work in areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda.  

Should you want to donate to Yolanda survivors, the following are CCT’s bank details:

               Bank :  Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company – Kamagong-Sampaloc, Makati Branch
               Bank Account Name :  Center for Community Transformation
               Peso Account Number :  501-3-501-90126-2
               US Dollar Account Number :  501-2-501-20008-0
               Swift Code :  MBTCPHMM

In the Philippines, please get in touch with Ms. Penny Lim at 0933-2618809 for queries or more information. 

If you are US-based, please visit philippines.causevox.com to make a donation. 

Yolanda Aid Worker Story

Unforgettable Experience:  Leading a Yolanda Survivor to Christ

By Jacob Macarilay as told to Myra Gaculais del Rosario

Jacob Macarilay cleans wounds
sustained by Yolanda survivor while
being swept out to sea. 

Anastacio, Yolanda survivor,
 tells aid workers his story. 

From the plane, the scene below seemed to me like someone had gotten tired of playing with his toys and, in a temper tantrum, had toppled them all with a quick sweep of the hand.  But this was not a playroom floor strewn with toys.  This was Tacloban City 12 days after it had been hit by Super Typhoon.  Trees and utility posts were lying on their sides, buildings of all sizes were roofless, cars were piled up and surrounded by debris. 

I was with a medical team sent to Tacloban by the Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries (where I work as a school nurse) and the Victory Christian Fellowship. This was my first visit to Tacloban.  I wondered, “How would I have felt if I were coming home to a city as devastated as this?”

As soon as we stepped off the plane the depression all around was almost something we could touch. Then Pastor Ed Gomez and his wife Geraldine who were to be our guides through the city rushed up to greet us.  They had lost almost all their material possessions in the storm but but they welcomed us with the sunniest of smiles. I was supposed to be bringing them  encouragement, but here they were encouraging me.  Their joy was contagious.     

We unloaded our bags and medical supplies at the Ritz Tower de Leyte, an event venue and restaurant also heavily damaged by the typhoon then we set off  to meet  the vice mayor and register as aid volunteers.

The vice mayor, we found out, was a pastor! A survivor too, his home and car were damaged. He had to walk to and from the city hall everyday.  If he seemed exhausted it was understandable -- he was dealing with a situation far worse than anyone’s worst nightmares. Still, he worked with quiet determination. 

He requested our group of three doctors, two nurses and one non-medical staff to fill the gap between the local government's efforts  and ‘big players’ bringing in aid such as international organizations, the Department of Health, and the Philippine Red Cross. 

Back at the Ritz, we met two volunteers looking for a group they could team up with. Steven introduced himself as a registered pharmacist.  Jason, although just about my age – 21 – said he’d been doing volunteer work for quite some time and had actually crossed paths with Steven at relief operations thrice before.  We knew God had sent them our way. Steven's experience with reading scribbled prescriptions and Jason's assistance with dispensing medicine helped us serve a lot more patients than we could have without their help. 

We treated more than 500 patients in two days in Leyte. One of them was Kuya Anastacio.

He told me his survival story while I cleaned wounds on his legs. 

Like other men in his seaside community, he’d sent his family to an evacuation center and stayed home to keep an eye on their belongings.  The storm surge flattened  houses in the entire neighborhood and swept him and many others out to sea.  Clinging to someone's house post as dead neighbors floated around him he earnestly prayed that God would spare him. Several hours later  a rescue team fished him out of the water alive.

As a nurse I am trained never to give in to my emotions when treating a patient. But I was crying just as hard as Kuya Anastacio as I told him, “God heard your plea.  God has a purpose for your life.  He gave you a second chance.”   He turned his life over to Jesus that morning at the evacuation center.

This is my first job, so this Tacloban trip is something I will never forget.  What makes it most unforgettable was the opportunity to lead Kuya Anastacio to Christ. 

Yolanda Survivor Story

A Miracle at the Philam Life Building 

By Geraldine Gomez as told to Myra Gaculais del Rosario

The building that sheltered Geraldine, Ephraim, and Shalom Gomez while
Yolanda raged over Central Visayas.  Windows on second
floor where they stayed are intact.  Photo: Pet Cumagun

Ed, Ephraim, Geraldine, and Shalom:
Yolanda survivors 

Thursday, November 7 was just like any other weekday. It had been sunny all day, business establishments were busy, children went to school.  There seemed to be no reason to leave for the night but my children, Ephraim, 9, and Shalom, 5, and I packed some clothes anyway.

My husband, Ed, had received a text message inviting our family to stay at the Philam Life building for safety. For days, the news carried reports of a super typhoon brewing over the Pacific and Tacloban was going to be directly in its path.  Just a few days earlier, Ed had passed the  insurance agents’ licensure exam which is why  the company had his cell phone number. 

Late in the afternoon we said goodbye to Ed who would keep an eye on the house. I could feel neighbors smiling behind us as my children and I left with overnight bags and pillows.

Several other families had received the invitation too but no one else came to stay at the three-story building in downtown Tacloban. In  a room on the second floor Ephraim and I pushed some tables together, spread out our blankets and settled down for the night.

The wind started to blow menacingly at three the next morning. By four o clock it was howling mercilessly.  It was the scariest thing I have ever lived through.

I felt like crying but I didn’t want the children to be terrified. Instead I clutched them tightly, and we alternately prayed and worshipped God.  Soon the lights went out. A little later I couldn’t reach Ed on the phone.  I wondered how he was faring and quietly prepared myself for never seeing him alive again. 

The wind finally died down at ten o clock in the morning and we took stock of our surroundings. Bodies were floating in the flood water outside. The wind had peeled away part of the roof and rain pouring in had flooded the top floor. The glass  door at the main entrance to the building was broken and water had reached nearly nine feet.  But in the room that had been our refuge, every single window pane was intact.  Not one was broken. 

At about five in the afternoon, nearly 24 hours after we had said goodbye to Ed he walked into the room, having walked all the way from our house for the past several hours. He said that our roof, except for the part over the bathroom was gone.  His precious collection of theology books (he is a pastor and Bible school teacher), our wedding album were hopelessly damaged.  But we were all alive, safe, and unhurt. Reunited, we thanked and worshipped God as a family.    

*******

Ed and Geraldine Gomez were beginning to introduce the savings mobilization program of the Center for Community Transformation in needy communities in Tacloban a few weeks before Super Typhoon Yolanda devastated the city.  

*******

Should you want to donate to Yolanda survivors, the following are CCT’s bank details:

               Bank :  Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company – Kamagong-Sampaloc, Makati Branch
               Bank Account Name :  Center for Community Transformation
               Peso Account Number :  501-3-501-90126-2
               US Dollar Account Number :  501-2-501-20008-0
               Swift Code :  MBTCPHMM

In the Philippines, please get in touch with Ms. Penny Lim at 0933-2618809 for queries or more information. 

If you are US-based, please visit philippines.causevox.com to make a donation.