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Thursday, April 06, 2006
Ormoc farmers become 'social welfare envoys' to landslide-hit town
THE recent tragic event in Barangay Guinsaugon in St. Bernard town, Southern Leyte brought an extraordinary tale of humanity and heroism in the local farming community. Thanks to a group of dedicated volunteer-farmers from Ormoc City who served as "social welfare ambassadors" to the helpless victims of the landslide.
Twenty-four hours after thick layers of mud and rock buried the peaceful farmland of Guinsaugon, farmer leader Antonia Codilla and five others from Ormoc rushed to the landslide-stricken town to extend their support to fellow farmers who were left homeless. The simple deed turned into a heroic act when the farmers joined hands with the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), civilian volunteers, and other organizations, who were conducting rescue-and-relief operations in the area.
"The first thing that came into my mind that moment was to call the members of the FST group (a partner of Syngenta Foundation in Ormoc) who are willing to go with us. Initially, there were five farmers who joined us and another five followed the next day," narrated Codilla, an FST farmer leader of Syngenta Philippines Foundation's Inc.
Codilla, together with Smithbert Tuante, Rosalinda Gonzaga, Bonifacia Palar, and Elma Almaden, all farmers of Syngenta Foundation, arrived at St. Bernard the following day. They were stunned to see thousand of evacuees needing food, water, and clothes. She took the initiative of mobilizing her team with direct instructions from the Red Cross. Armed with determination and exhaustless effort, they helped individual volunteers in packing relief goods while others helped in providing temporary shelter for the 5,000 evacuees who came from nearby barangays.
The farmers stayed in Guinsaugon for three weeks to assist other volunteers in carrying sacks of rice, boxes of canned goods, pile of blankets, gallons of water, and other donated stuff for the landslide victims "We know the reason why we are here. Hindi lang kami pumunta dito para damayan ang kapwa namin magsasaka kundi para makiisa sa pagtulong sa iba pang biktima ng trahedya (We did not come here to just sympathize with our fellow farmers but to join efforts in helping the other landslide victims)," said Codilla, who belonged to a community affected by the 1991 flashflood tragedy in Ormoc City where more than 10,000 people died.
The spirit of Bayanihan was rekindled in the devastated community of Barangay Guinsaugon when farmers from Syngenta Philippines Foundation Inc. showed their compassion by personally attending to the needs of their fellow farmers.
Dr. Sonny Alfaro, a mango farmer at St. Bernard shared his own good deed by offering his farmhouse as a shelter for Syngenta Foundation volunteer-farmers who were assisting other rescue teams. Another volunteer, Smithbert Tuante, has volunteered to stay at St. Bernard for nine straight days to continue assisting the Red Cross and other organizations in transporting relief goods to the evacuation area. "I realized that there's a lot more to be done here so I decided to stay for a few more days to assist the victims," said Tuante.
Edwin Pamonag, Red Cross operations manager in Guinsaugon, said the way the farmers work as a team determines their true cause on why they are helping their fellow farmers. "We felt that it was more than a good deed for these farmers to respond to the needs of the families of the victims and they have shown it through unity and camaraderie," said Pamonag.
Showing gratitude and appreciation on the farmers' efforts in the relief and rescue operations, Red Cross in Leyte expressed interest and willingness to train the FST farmers on disaster response missions.
FST volunteer-farmers in Southern Leyte are being supervised and supported by Syngenta Philippines Foundation Inc., the unit responsible for the company's corporate social responsibility. The group also assists local farmers on various agriculture projects through its countrywide program called the "Farmer Support Team".
Syngenta Philippines Foundation Inc. has pledged a wholehearted support to its member-farmers by lending their "corporate expertise" in the rehabilitation and construction of the damaged farmland of Barangay Guinsaugon.
"We are truly proud of our 'farmer ambassadors' at St. Bernard. This experience reminds us of our social responsibility to our stakeholders particularly to the farming sector. We will extend our arms for whatever form of assistance they may need from Syngenta in their volunteering activities," said Syngenta Philippines Foundation executive director Perry Calara.
The institution is coordinating with other partner-farmer stakeholders in Leyte for possible food production projects and the rehabilitation of the 90 hectares damaged farmland. (Press release)
(April 6, 2006 issue)
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