Way Back Home

 This is so late!! I never had much time to blog last December so I will just share it now :(

         Last December 18, 2012 I traveled from Marawi City to Tacurong City. I passed by Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City. If you’ve heard the news about the victims of Typhoon Sending probably you also want to ask me whether I saw what happened there. Yes, I saw what happened in Iligan City. I saw the broken bridge, the riverbanks, and the houses that were erased by the typhoon. It was really different from what I usually see every time I go to CDO.  I hardly believe that it really happened in Iligan because Iligan doesn’t always experience flood compared to CDO. I’ve been here in MSU for almost four years now and almost every month I go to Iligan to buy groceries, I am also having my duty exposure their so Iligan is just near us. Actually, when I first heard my classmate said that they were affected by the flood I was still calm but when he already said that the flood reached the roof of their two-storey house I was already in distress. I offer all I can in order to help my classmate financially and emotionally. We also donated old clothes to the chapel to be sent to the victims of the flood. During that time, I never watch TV because I was busy with school requirements and with the preparation for my way back home but when I travelled my heart was almost crushed seeing the aftermath of the flood.

              I even passed by a funeral home in which the corpse were just left outside lying under the sun.  I saw the people covering their nose and mouth crying. In Cagayan de Oro, a great devastation also happened. I saw the old establishments, the cars, and the houses soaked in mud. When I came at the terminal the sun has already set but the people are still talking about the calamity. Some students from MSU-IIT shared a lot because they were there during the flood. I still can’t believe what happened. To think that Christmas is coming, I empathized to the victims of Bagyong Sendong.

             When I came home, I watch the news then I saw what happened to the areas which were greatly affected by the flood. I never expect that what I saw on my way home was not even half of what really happened. Until now, the trauma is still there. People still need help. I always pray for them that despite what happened they will still have a strong faith in God. Though floods are natural calamities, the effects could be aggravated by the negligence of man. Just like what happened in IC and CDO, thousands of people died, thousands are still missing, and millions of properties were damaged because of the mud and logs that erased some part of the city together with the flood. I guess, it’s really time to implement the total log ban because whether it’s legal or not, there is no proper reforestation. It takes years for a tree to grow but some loggers cut all kinds of trees whether old or young. May we not wait for the next Sendong to come for us to realize that our negligence will harm our countrymen, may we become more loving to our mother earth and may we also become more faithful and fearful to our Creator. Let’s HELP CDO and Iligan City!!