How to Survive without; Water & Electricity | The real "after-effect" of Odette in people's lives.

Three weeks ago, I just got back to work and reunited with my dear workmates like a normal day. Three weeks ago, people were so busy preparing parties and shopping gifts for Christmas. Three weeks ago, perhaps we still have enough supplies of drinking water good for few days. Three weeks ago, we were just enjoying our phones streaming the social media or working even if its still charging. Exactly three weeks ago, the batteries left in our devices and the water bottles we have in stock suddenly became, NOT ENOUGH.

"HELP! WE NEED WATER"

_{I've ask few owners of these container jars what time did they started lining up. All of them answered almost the same, 4 o'clock in dawn. Photo taken was 9 o'clock in the morning. Unfortunately we were not able to get water because they've already cut off the line.}
 

At first, getting drinking water after the storm was like "people are afraid to die and too scared for their families so they panic buying supplies right there and then", kind of situation. A desperate move to survive. We needed to line up for how long just to get one or two containers of drinking water to survive a day or two for a family of 4 or five. We can barely notice how sweaty we are, how smelly we are, how hungry we are because we are basically focusing on one thing. So how to live without water? There is no other way. We need water to survive.
 

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"WARNING! YOUR BATTERY IS LOW."

_{21 days dinner set-up in candlelight setting and an old way of cooking since we're avoiding to consume too much gasoline in cooking our foods and since there were lots of fallen broken branches of trees around the area, might as well use them.}

_{Those photos above were taken at the public market. They offered a free charging station for everyone. I went there 6 o'clock, that photo of people waiting I took around 7ish in the same morning. Its not just that, it became much crowded after an hour.}

Same with electricty. We all know that communication is vital to us hence we're using smart phones, tablets or ipads to make calls and chat our loveones everyday. But when Odette (the storm) had completely disconnected and destroyed all the post and lines with electricity, it feels like, darkness have eaten us pretty quick. Communication was completely vanish. How lucky it is for some who has generators as back up, big buildings or businesses that can still work because of it. However, people including me was still blessed because some of these lucky ones had put some FREE charging stations so that people can have their phones, powerbanks, flashlights, emergency lights, electric fans to work. Silently praying that after charging, it would ease the nights that are coming with no lights to sleep on. We can live without the electricity but water is a must every day.
 

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REFLECTION

If I to reflect life with this current situation, it appears to me that what had just happened left us a big lesson and a wake up call. A lesson to learn to value things we barely notice because we got busy in taking it for granted.

As the dark days goes by, my patience was really tested to be honest. This blog may sound very dramatic in a way that it would appear as hard for us Filipinos to wait and wait until the powers are back and waters will flow normally. Its true, to wait is hard but living the moment and moving forward is the only way to recover from the situation. This is where people of the Phillipines becomes stronger and maintains the positivity of life through looking at the brighter side of every situation. I wonder why where we're getting this from.

Having those necessities (Electricity and water) every day doesn't mean it won't be gone someday. It should be, while we still have these necessities, we shall not wait for that day before we learn to value it. As long as we have them, with easy access, we must live to learn how to take care of them, to conserve, reuse and restore before its too late.