Action, hope and faith

One month after Tropical Storm “Sendong” struck through Northern Mindanao, particularly through the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro Antonio J. Ledesma, S.J., issued a report on the extent of the damage and the progress being made to address the needs of the survivors, including psycho-social support to help them get through the trauma they experienced.

“Cagayan de Oro is slowly getting back on its feet,” wrote the archbishop. This despite the horrible toll the disaster has taken on the city: nearly a third of the city’s population severely affected by the flood waters; more than 10,000 families seeking refuge in evacuation centers in public schools, barangay covered courts, and churches while others chose to stay with relatives or friends. Out of the archdiocese’s 21 city parishes, noted Ledesma, “17 riverside parishes were extensively inundated, with the hardest hit parishes being Macasandig, Balulang, Carmen, Cathedral, Consolacion, Puntod, RER, Kauswagan, Bulua and Canitoan.”

The challenge now facing both government and multi-sectoral groups working with the dislocated families is to “build new communities of hope,” says the archbishop. This is because officials have determined that informal settlers should not be allowed to return to the sitios that were actually part of the river delta and were inundated with flood waters.

While many evacuees have left the schoolhouses that served as evacuation centers and have found temporary shelter in tents or bunkhouses, “more sites for permanent housing units still need to be identified and acquired,” said the archbishop. “These would supplement the city’s nine hectares in Calaanan and Xavier University’s offer of five hectares in Lumbia, which can accommodate only about 1,500 families out of the estimated 5,000-6,000 needing relocation.”

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Noteworthy in the archbishop’s letter was the role played by the local Church in meeting   the immediate needs of the flood victims and helping decide long-term issues for the survivors.

From the first day of the calamity, says Ledesma, the Social Action Ministry of the archdiocese organized “Tabang Cagayan” to assist and augment the efforts of the local government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Indeed, their efforts were enhanced by the outpouring of donations, in both cash and kind, from around the country and the world.

And while one arm was busy with relief and recovery work, the archdiocese also “played the role of convenor together with the DSWD regional office,” bringing together government agencies, civil society organizations and international humanitarian groups. An operations center was likewise set up at the Jesuit-run Xavier University gym “to facilitate the supervision of camp management and to act as a clearing house” for donated goods and services.

“Early in the relief work, the need for accurate data was felt in identifying and profiling the survivor families of Typhoon Sendong,” writes Ledesma. “With the help of many youth volunteers and seminarians for interviewing and encoding, the archdiocese’s data management team has designed a computer program that generates disaggregated information for the families affected by the floods.  This information has been made available to DSWD and other organizations to help them in prioritizing families for permanent housing units.”

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Also a concern is the urgent need for post-trauma counseling for the survivors. “Coping with the loss of loved ones or an entire home needs time and sensitivity to heal. Debriefing sessions have been conducted by university teams and doctors to prepare local volunteers, including the archdiocese’s women religious from a dozen congregations.”

The archbishop was equally moved by the “example of accompaniment in the evacuation centers and affected areas” of the sisters of the Daughters of Charity, with four separate batches of 15 to 17 sisters each working quietly for a week at a time to serve in various capacities. “In one barangay, the profile of a DC sister walking with a Muslim woman guide, both with head veils, to interview affected Muslim households shows another dimension of solidarity in moments of adversity.” The archbishop also cited the assistance provided by the Holy Spirit and RVM sisters.

“The local Church has not forgotten to remember the names of the dead and missing in this tragedy—now exceeding a thousand,” writes Ledesma. Memorial Masses were said in the cathedral on Dec. 30 and Jan. 7, while a candlelight ceremony by the riverside will be held today,  Jan. 25, the 40th day of  Sendong.  “Evacuation centers and temporary resettlement sites also have their religious services.  We have made available the open grounds of both theological and college seminaries and some parish churches for temporary housing of more than two hundred families,” he adds.

The archbishop continues: “The ongoing challenges of social preparation for building new communities continue—in the midst of remembering loved ones who have perished. It is with this hope that in the foreseeable future we can repeat the Psalmist’s plea, ‘You have turned my mourning into dancing’ (Ps. 30:11).”

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During the Consolidation for Peace for Mindanao in Penang, Fr. Angel Calvo, a Claretian priest based in Zamboanga who has worked tirelessly for decades for the cause of peace, received a text message—just as the final session was closing—that his 97-year-old mother had passed away. While he hurriedly prepared to leave Penang and fly to Barcelona, Archbishop Ledesma offered to say Mass in his hotel room for the repose of the old woman’s soul. Hearing Mass in an archbishop’s room with four other women is one experience I will never forget.