One of the hardest parts after a typhoon is the rebuilding.
I remember when Typhoon Sendong hit our home in 2011. We immediately left, bringing nothing with us. We couldn’t bear to come back for a month. But we had to. That was our home, all that we had.
Fast forward 6 years later, in 2017, the flood happened again.
Unlike before, fortunately, there were no casualties in Cagayan de Oro. However, houses and lives were still destroyed. At this time, others have begun cleaning up, picking up the debris, rising from the mud.
To assist this cause, SteemPH, in cooperation with Kuya Fish Campaign and German Doctors, have come up with yet another outreach project.
The target areas were the areas severely affected by the flood: these are the Tambo and Tibasak areas in Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City. We made sure that these families were the ones who truly needed support.
One of our core leaders, Kris, interviews a recipient.
The group provided a huge bucket for cleaning. The bucket contained food for a week, some kitchenware, cleaning materials and blankets.
A happy recipient. She says that our group’s aid was the only one that her family has received.
It does not stop there. Over the span of a month, the group will continue providing food and water as support to the families’ rebuilding. Some of them had their houses completely washed out.
People have slowly begun rebuilding their homes, even women work. They cannot afford to hire people to do it.
Unfortunately, we could not help everyone. There were some volunteers who were harassed by those who were not given goods. We were called names and taunted, but we kept quiet and kept on giving. We understood what they felt. They were disappointed, and we were disheartened. But we try to do what we can. And with your help, we can still do more.
One of our volunteers sits down while interviewing another recipient. It has been a long day.
There is much to be done. More families to be helped. We hope to help these people transition, not to be dependent on what is given. We have interviewed them and asked what their plans were, so we can assist them.
We have done so much, thanks to your help. Thanks to the generosity of 
Let’s help them rise from the mud and live better, more productive lives.
* Bayanihan is not dead- it lives in the hearts of those who are willing to give a hand. *