"I'm watching my house being transformed. I can't eat my food because I am so amazed!" These words from Rosita Magistrado capture the hope and excitement in the area around Laguna Lake, near Manila the Philippines. Like most of her neighbors, Rosita's home and livelihood were damaged when tropical storm Ketsana tore through the area in September 2009. Today, she has new reasons to celebrate thanks in part to CRWRC's local partner the Christian Reformed Church of the Philippines (CRCP).
Kestana was one of the worst disasters to hit the metro-Manila and Southern Luzon areas of the Philippines in recent history. The flood waters from the storm destroyed homes, washed away crops and fishing materials, ruined crops, swamped sanitation systems, and caused at least 400 deaths. CRWRC responded by providing emergency food to 8,000 people and restocking Laguna Lake with one million fish fingerlings. In partnership with Medical Teams International, CRWRC also provided $250,000 worth of medical aid to deal with the outbreak of waterborne diseases caused by the disaster.
Five months after the storm, CRWRC is continuing to respond by addressing the needs for housing and livelihoods. By partnering with the Disaster Response Teams (DRT) of the CRCP, CRWRC is restocking Tadlac Lake with fish fingerlings, rebuilding homes, and repairing a dike so that farmers can once again grow rice and vegetables.
"This unique high-impact project brings excitement to the church, we are glad that we can implement this project with CRWRC," says Pastor Benjur Garcia of the CRCP about one project to rebuild a dike that was damaged in three places by Ketsana.
"Rebuilding the dike prevents flooding in the adjoining rice fields and allows farmers to regulate the flow of irrigation water," said Lem Lamigo-Rosellon, member of CRWRC's International Disaster Response Team. CRWRC provided the poles, galvanized metal sheets, and cement for the project. With supervision from the CRCP- DRT, the farmers in San Antonio village worked together and used these materials to form a wall that was 20 feet long and 8 feet high. As a result 207 rice farmers in the area are now able to plant in irrigated fields.
In a similar way, CRWRC provided funding to the CRCP to repair and rebuild homes like Rosita's. To date, a crew of eight CRCP members has repaired 64 homes. They have committed to repairing an additional 80.
"Several beneficiaries expressed their gratitude, as well as their wonder and awe that a group is willing to help them in their dire need," said Henry Visscher, CRWRC's International Relief Manager who just returned to Canada after a month of overseeing the project in the Philippines. "Rosita Magistrado is one of them. She is a 46 year-old housewife with 3 children. She survived Typhoon Ketsana and received emergency food from CRWRC soon after the storm. Now she is expressing her joy that Christians would continue to respond to her needs."
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- by Kristen deRoo VanderBerg, CRWRC Communications