Finally: I have phone signal!! So here goes:
It's December 20th and it's been four days since super typhoon Rai hit Cebu City and the rest of the province. We do not have electricity and water supply. Prices have surged up for all drinking water and fuel/gas as well. Anywhere you go here in Cebu, the waiting line for gas stations are so long, because many establishments/ private people are using gasoline to power their generator sets for electricity. All the grocery stores are jam-packed with lots of people, too. Everyone is looking for ways to charge their mobile phones, and the line for charging stations are incredibly long. Anywhere you go here in Cebu you'll find people waiting in long lines amidst the scorching summer sun--people line up for bakeries, banks/ ATM machines, water, fuel, grocery stores. I'm really down hearted that water and gas these past few days have tripled in price, omg!!! Many of us have already lost homes and now here are the people increasing their price and making our lives even harder. 😭
BEFORE I PROCEED, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THE SUPPORT YOU GAVE ON MY LAST POST. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! My family and I are beyond GRATEFUL for your support! We're already starting our house reconstruction/ repair (by looking people who can do the repairs) and the rewards we have received for the last post [and this post as well] are going to be used for our repair. AGAIN THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING US😭❤️🙏 (I'm sorry if I haven't replied to all who have commented in my previous post, I'm thankful for all your support and well wishes, phone signal is SO HARD to find in the place where we have evacuated, and I cannot turn on my mobile data for long as it drains my battery fast)
It breaks my heart to see Cebu City and the rest of the province so devastated. What shatters my heart even more is that it's been four days and there's still no visible help for our province. What I also noticed is that there's so little nationwide media coverage of the destruction Cebu suffered due to the typhoon. Why is that? 😭
This post is to help make awareness to all people who haven't heard it yet: Cebu needs your help, so do Bohol and Negros who have been affected by this super strong typhoon.
Everyone here in Cebu is in "survival mode", because we do not have water and electricity, we all need to find ways to survive. For our family, as we're staying at our sister's house in the provincial area of Cebu, we ask for water for bathroom and cleaning purposes from the neighbor's deep well, and we are so blessed to have access to clean water despite the chaos. As for the drinking water, we wait in lines, and it's a good thing that the store is just across the house. For electricity, we use flash lights/solar powered lights and fairy lights in the evening, as we do not have any generator sets, which made me realize that it's really important in emergencies, so I'd see to it that I'd secure one for our house in the future. Furthermore, my nieces are having a hard time sleeping at night as they got used to having air conditioner since they were babies. As for me, I'm quite alright without air-condition so long as the air is quite cold at night.
Personally, the past few days have been hard. Last week, I had it all planned out: buy Christmas gifts before December 24th and have last minute shopping for Christmas dinner. I already envisioned that I'm going to welcome new year with a bang! And then: super typhoon Rai happened.
And then everything changed. For the worse.
I know, deep in my core, that this, too, shall pass. Everything will be well. But there's a part of me asking so many whys: why does it have to be us, why did we lose our house when it's almost Christmas, why do we have to suffer as we close year 2021, why is life cruel, and so many Why's I won't be able to type them all (but you get the gist).
I've lost many things. We all have. Our family has lost our home and the rest of our stuff and we need to have a major (major) renovation/repair. We don't know if our TV, laptops, iPad and other appliances are still working, as we cannot turn them on as we don't have electricity.
The photos below are actual pictures I took on the day of December 17th, a day after the storm passed by Cebu:
The silver lining in this tragedy, for me, is that all of us, my family--parents, siblings, nieces-- are all safe and sound. It's what really matters at the end of the day: we are all safe.
I hope and pray that things will turn around soon and help is on its way.
I hope Cebuanos and the rest of the people who have been affected may get help and assistance in these trying times. 🙏
‘Til the next post, hivers! Remember that you are loved beyond borders and beyond time & space. Okay? Okay. 💛❤️
Ciao for now! 🤗🥰
This original article is written by Jong, the blogger behind writetowander.com. All photos are hers, too.
Hive-llo, everyone! Welcome to Jong's little buzz-y corner in Hive. Jong believes that every person she meets can teach her a thing or two (or three, or more) about life. She shares her love for life here-- the captivating beauty of life! To be more specific, but not necessarily in this order, she's interested in: wisdom, love, poetry, single life, books, travel, health&fitness, fashion, gratitude, unspoken hurts, heartbreaks and healing. Lastly, she loves Jesus.
Do you like her content? Make sure to upvote, then! Drop some love by leaving a comment-- she really appreciates listening to your thoughts! 💛 Feel free to reblog if her post resonated with you. Kindly follow her to not miss a post! Happy hiving, loves! 💛