The widow ‘bakwit’ and the volunteers

Saturday, January 28, 2012

ILIGAN CITY -- Jane (not real name) had her usual day at the Erag Junk Shop in Barangay Santiago here on December 16, 2011, despite the news of signal no.2 brought by Tropical Storm Sendong.

Jane was aware of the imminent danger that might be brought by the typhoon. After her job as a sorter of scrap materials and worried about her children, Josh, 6; Karen, 3; and Jean, she hurriedly went home late afternoon as winds were bringing heavy rains.

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A young widower, Jane had no inkling that the day was fateful as her character as a mother was put to test when her house was wiped out brought by Storm Sendong at dawn of December 17. She could not recount well how she managed to survive with her three children despite having no one to ask help for.

Jane’s aging parents were also tending to their two orphaned grandchildren and one differently-abled female teenager, all left under the care of the grandparents. Jane could only muster how thankful enough she was for her parents. Their family has survived the wrath of Sendong.
Later that day, this writer introduced Jane to Joy Magumpara, social welfare supervisor assigned as camp commander of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) Evacuation Center.

Magumpara noted Jane’s two young malnourished children.

Instantly, Magumpara instructed her to get up early on December 20 as she was given the chance, along with some “bakwit” (evacuee) from the MSU-IIT evacuation center, to meet President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III at the grounds of Iligan City National High School.

And the rest, as they say, is history. Jane’s stories could very well be retold by her family members.

Meanwhile, Renie Somontan, a second year student of the College of Education (CED) at MSU-IIT, was feverish after volunteering for the cleanup drive at the CED’s premise brought by the college party on December 16, 2011.

Together with Cyrus Encabo, graduating student of the Political Science Department of the College of Arts and Socials Sciences, and a few friends from their boarding house, they made rounds at Purok 1 Barangay Santiago and at the boundary of the river in Bayug here.

They were first witnesses to the devastation that swept the houses along Iligan’s coastal lines at Barangays Santiago, Canaway and Tibanga. The photos they took attested to the properties, lives and limbs that were lost due to Typhoon Sendong.

Immediately after looking up for survivors, they hurriedly reported to the police assigned in the vicinity and proceeded to make a verbal report to the security personnel of MSU-IIT.

Shortly before 9:00 a.m., Renie went to the MSU-IIT gymnasium and presented himself to this writer as a volunteer and was later to be known as the first volunteer.

That same early morning, Chancellor Sukarno Tanggol, along with Prof. Ernesto Empig, Prof. Darwin Manubag, Dr. David Almarez, Vice Chancellor Polaus Bari and Dr. Rhodora Englis and this writer, formed the core team of the MSU-IIT Evacuation Center, which accommodated only about 200 families on Day 1.

Vice Chancellor Bari was first to offer some food from the prizes he got during the MSU-IIT employees’ party a day before the devastation took place. The victims, with sheer gratitude, readily cooked the noodles and canned goods and could only muster a heartwarming “Daghang Salamat, (thanks so much) Sir!”

The victims elsewhere must have sensed the warmness of the MSU-IIT community that barely an hour later, many had started flocking to the gates of the university, prompting us to guide them to the gymnasium for assistance.

The rest became pages of the history of volunteerism and of empowerment of both young and old, of sense of compassion for the needy, and of unselfish dedication towards lending a hand at a time of disaster, all proving to our worth as good citizens of this planet and our sense of accountability for our immediate communities.

But everything is a long journey. (Venus R. Parmisana)