I guess I’m finally writing this because the emotional toll has been huge for many of us.
For the past weeks, we have been distributing food, toiletries, and other supplies to those affected by the tropical Typhoon Vinta.
We have been to several areas, and we always give what we can to as many people as possible. We have had the Macasandig area and Consolacion area as our beneficiaries, thanks to SteemPH, SteemCebu and, of course, to you dear Steemians who keep on upvoting and resteeming our posts and call for donations.
This post is not made to discourage people to volunteer. It is a post showing you an honest-to-goodness side of volunteering people don’t tell you about. This is also a post to recognise the hard work our volunteers have done throughout the months.
Earlier today, Kring, my co-founder (of the social outreach group Kuya Fish Campaign) and good friend, called me up because she has undergone a lot of stress during their distribution.
We have chosen several families to include in our donation distribution, usually those whose houses which were totally washed out. We surveyed the area and asked a list from the barangay council. The barangay council gave us a list and we headed on to distribution.
When we got there, we were flooded by people. This was expected, since this normally happens in distributions. What we didn’t expect, however, was the backlash that would occur in the actual distribution. We called in the people who were part of the list given, and asked them to claim their food and cleaning kits. Others who were not called got very angry and tried to drive us away. We understand, of course, because they expected to be given these as well. We already announced the names of those families earlier, even before the distribution began.
They shooed us away, even called us names, ‘useless’ and even ‘trash’. We had to go back to our headquarters earlier than expected because people were becoming too violent.
We decided to have the families themselves come to the area where we’re staying, so they can claim their kits. However, news of relief efforts spread, and, once again, people who were not on the list insisted that they be given said goods. Some even had Motorelas (motorcycle-driven carts) with them to bring what they expected to get.
It’s such a disheartening thing to know that you can’t help everyone. It’s even more disheartening to hear harsh and cruel words from those you are supposed to be helping.
We understand them, of course. They are in need, and tired. They expected, and their expectations were not met.
But I guess people have to remember that volunteers are people, too. We have feelings and we get hurt. We get discouraged and disheartened.
But this does not mean we’re going to stop helping.
These experiences challenge us to rise beyond what we do and find more ways to keep on helping. These experiences help us realise thy we have each other, and that those who hurt us need our help more. We may get tired, but we will keep on fighting. Having such a supportive environment also helps us cope. At the end of the day, the smiles and stories of those we help keep us going.
Volunteering is no easy feat, but because we are driven by purpose, we will prevail.
Thank you very much, once again, dear Steemians for helping our cause. We hope to reach more communities with your help very soon.
