Survivors pick up the pieces in Yolanda Village in Bogo City

A SECOND LIFE

A child buys from a sari-sari store in barangay La Paz, Bogo City, where new houses, painted blue were built by private donors for typhoon Yolanda survivors. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)

Thank you, Lord for the second chance at life.”

A smiling Herminia Arnoco made this statement as she, together with her neighbors, welcomed officials  and visitors  to the Yolanda Village in barangay La Paz,  Bogo City on the eve of the first anniversary of the onslaught of supertyphoon Yolanda, where their new settlement got its name.

Arnoco, 50, a member of the barangay council of  La Purisima Concepcion, was among those whose houses were swept to the sea in the morning of Nov. 8, 2013.

“Wala gyu’y nabilin. Ang uban namong butang gipangkawat pa. Wa mi kahibaw asa mi padung (We lost everything. Some of our belongings even got stolen. We didn’t know where to go),” she told Cebu Daily News.

The stress of evacuation was too much to bear for her husband, Joseph, 54. He  suffered a heart attack a month after the storm struck.

“We will offer Mass to thank  God for giving us a second life. We thank the Lord for delivering us and we also thank the donors for giving us this house,” said the bubbly 50-year-old as she proudly stood at the door of her new yellow house, one of  128 houses in the first cluster of  Yolanda Village that was built  through the joint efforts of  private donors and international humanitarian groups.

Arnoco’s house on a 70-square-meter lot  was sponsored by the Sunshine Corner Ministry and sits on land provided by the Bogo city government.

BRAND NEW. Used to living in danger zones, 128 households have settled in the Yolanda Village in barangay La Paz, Bogo. 200 more houses are to rise soon at the relocation site. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)

Arnoco’s story was just one of the tales of survival and misery that would be painfully retold and remembered today.

At 8 a.m. today, the bells of the Sto. Niño parish church in Sta. Fe town in Bantayan Island will ring to mark the first anniversary of the onslaught of supertyphoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) that devastated a large swath of eastern and central Philippines including this town in northern Cebu.

Siren blasts from police cars, firetrucks and ambulances and car horns will accompany the ringing of  bells as a symbolic wake up call for  people to be always alert, Sta. Fe. Mayor Jose Esgana said.

The noise barrage is a traditional way of driving away evil spirits” he explained.

It was around that time last year when the Category 5 typhoon – the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded –  was about to make its third landfall, hitting Bantayan island.

Yolanda made five landfalls – two in Cebu – before exiting the Philippines and leaving a trail of  destruction with over 6,300 people killed and rendered millions homeless. The supertyphoon claimed the lives of over 50 people in northern Cebu.

Close to 90 percent of the houses in Bantayan island’s three towns – Bantayan, Sta. Fe and Madridejos – were flattened with damage to property and losses estimated to reach P2 billion.

At the crack of dawn today, local officials together with students, teachers and volunteer aid workers will hold a coastal cleanup – also to symbolize the people’s resolve to rebuild and recover from the devastation.

A torch parade will then be held at dusk. A  fireworks display and entertainment program featuring Cebuano singer Jay-R Siaboc will cap the day.

“This affair will remind us that despite the  devastation of Yolandat, we were able to survive and for that we are grateful,” Esgana said.

A similar program will  be held in neighboring Bantayan town.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III is expected to arrive in the island at 8:30 a.m and visit the relocation sites of displaced families in barangay Sillon in Bantayan town. He will then go to neighboring Madridejos town for the distribution of roofing sheets to typhoon victims and  to Sta. Fe to award the winners of the  on-the-spot poster making contest.

Bogo City Mayor Celestino “Junie” Martinez said the city government  already built  more than a thousand new houses for displaced families under the “Adopt A Barangay” resettlement project in partnership with  NGOs and private organizations. Priority recipients are those living in danger zones and in coastal areas.

On Sunday, he said, another 200 housing units will be turned over by SM Cares to survivor-beneficiaries in barangay Polambato. Other barangays which already have relocation sites are Bugtod, Marangay, Cayang and Gairan.

Ahmad Clay Escolar, chairman of the Adopt A Barangay project, said they aim to build 4,000 progressive shelters for the 1,350 families that they intend to relocate. These 4,000 shelters will be built in different barangays in Bogo City.

Escolar said the resettlement houses which they call “progressive shelters” are not yet entirely typhoon resistant but foundations of these houses are already  strong.

Children at the Yolanda village in barangay La Paz, Bogo City smile for the camera. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)

“The important thing is that we bring the people away from danger zones”, Escolar added.

Each shelter has a 21-22 square meter floor area and can  house a family of five. Each unit costs  P50,000-P60,000 to build.

In identifying the beneficiaries, Escolar said they followed the guidelines set by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and  sponsors. Shelter recipients  will also help build  their houses as “sweat equity”.

The beneficiaries can acquire the houses for free but have to pay  240 pesos per month for 25 years for the cost of the lot with two years grace period.

Gil Tablo, one of the initial beneficiaries, said he was  eager to occupy his new house in Yolanda Village.

“Nalipay kog dako nga nahimutang mig tarung”, enthused Tablo.

Major sponsors of this rehabilitation project include Sunshine Corner Ministry, Cebu Breakfast Club, SM Cares and Prosjikt Filippinene.

Governor  Davide thanked the donors and called them a “credit to humanity” for their assistance. Davide  commended the efforts of Bogo officials for their rapid response after supertyphoon Yolanda. He  urged the beneficiaries to take care of the shelters for these are gifts from the donors. “Let us celebrate the spirit of bayanihan here in Bogo” Davide added.

Cebu officials held a separate program in Bogo City which was attended by Undersecretary Leslie Cordero of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR).

NGOs, humanitarian groups and regional government agencies set up booths in  the Don Celestino Martinez Sports Complex featuring aid extended to storm victims.

SUSTAINING SUPPORT. TESDA Secretary Joel Villanueva (center) together with Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III and Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale turnover TESDA housing units to supertyphoon Yolanda survivors at Bogo City sports complex. Rehabilitation efforts may go on for another five years. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)

In her speech, Cordero praised the efforts of the private sector in helping Cebu get back on its feet.

“A lot of people were calling me, asking me if they could talk to the President for help. I waited for a call from Cebu but none arrived,” she told the audience of a thousand, mostly students from the city’s elementary and high schools.

“But as we can see, Cebu from the very beginning was able to respond quickly to the need of immediate relief especially through the help of the private sector,” she added.

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