Barangay Tinago sets reunion for volunteers, donors on Nov. 13
Storm refuge in Cebu
A playhouse will be set up again in barangay Tinago’s sports complex on Nov. 13 just like the one used for young evacuees of typhoon Yolanda a year ago.
Tinago barangay captain Joel Garganera of Cebu City said volunteers and donors will gather on Thursday to commemorate the arrival of supertyphoon Yolanda survivors from Eastern Visayas provinces at the gym.
Garganera said they will remember how distressed families came to their doorstep and how Cebuanos welcomed them, supporting 646 individuals from Nov. 13 through Christmas until Dec. 28, 2013 in the brand-new gym.
There will be an afternoon Mass, a viewing of videos and photos of last year’s relief work, and a reunion.
“I wanted to gather all the volunteers and donors to reminisce what happened a year ago, but of course minus the survivors because I know that they would rather stay in their provinces,” Garganera said.
The playhouse was set up to help ease the trauma of child survivors last year.
Garganera recalled how he had the playhouse moved from the day care center to the gym when he saw the children who arrived were withdrawn and didn’t want to talk to anyone.
Tinago’s gym near the port area was chosen as a temporary haven for survivors who fled Tacloban City and other storm-devastated parts of the Visayas on board C-130 planes and Navy ships.
“Most of them had no food or water for the last three to four days. They were like zombies when they arrived,” Garganera recalled.
“But after two to three days, they started to transform. We were able to put a smile on their faces.”
Most evacuees stayed for three to four days while waiting to reconnect with other family members before proceeding to their destination. Some went on to Manila.
The first batch of about a hundred arrived around 2 p.m. on Nov. 13. Garganera referred to them as “guests”, not typhoon victims.
Almost daily, volunteers showed up with donations of food and clothing, and took turns serving meals and attending to the needs of evacuees. One group held an art therapy session. The paintings, drawings and photos were given prizes and exhibited in SM City Cebu.
“It was an effort of the Cebuanos, not mine alone,” said Garganera.
If not for the compassion and generosity of Cebuanos, he said, Tinago would not have been able to host the evacuees with such care.
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300 evacuees welcomed in barangay Tinago’s new sports center
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