By Anne B. Gubuan

The Philippines has 7,107 islands of which about 2,000 are inhabited. When typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck the country, all eyes were on Samar, where it first hit, and neighboring Leyte. You could just imagine how many other islands in the Visayas were affected that people hadn’t heard of. My officemates and I were privileged to get to know one of these islands when Malta-Filcom, a Filipino community in Malta, chose our office to help facilitate the rebuilding of one school in Barangay Barangkalan, Calagnaan Island, Iloilo.

Headed by their president, Veronica Ugates, Malta-Filcom members shared their little savings having in mind how their fellow Filipinos bore the brunt of Yolanda. ‘It makes us feel better somehow knowing that we have become instrumental in bringing hope to our fellowmen’, shared Estrelleta Gatt when she and her husband came to visit us in the Misyon editorial office during their short vacation in, Bacolod City, Philippines.

It took us three hours to reach the town of Estancia and from there a pump boat took us to the island. We had to hire two pump boats, one for the 180 pieces of galvanized iron roofing we had bought with the money donated by Malta-Filcom and another one for our small of group of about 20 composed of Misyon staff, and the parish pastoral council of Camp Martin Delgado, Iloilo City, of the Philippine National Police, headed by PNP chaplain Fr Ronilo A. Datu. It was the same group we went with last year when we brought relief goods to typhoon victims in the towns of Sara and Estancia, Iloilo.

‘You should go to Calagnaan Island, this time. Very little help reaches the people there’, suggested one of the social workers that we contacted while planning the trip. We were able to get in touch with the barangay captain and he said that the entire roof of their elementary school had been blown away by the typhoon and that the children had to study under the heat of the sun all day, with no classes when it was raining.

When we reached the island, people were already gathered in their small barangay hall,also roofless. The look of anticipation on their faces was beyond compare and in spite of their obvious neediness, they eagerly offered their humble homes for some water, or their bathroom for us to use. Most of the men in their small village eagerly helped unloading our little presents for them, everyone was smiling as if they were receiving something really special for themselves. We all shared the food that our group had brought for lunch and we then headed to the school for the turnover of the galvanized iron roofing and school supplies.

The first thing that greeted us when we reached the school vicinity was a poignant-looking little shanty made of bamboo poles and tarpaulins. That was supposed to be their temporary classroom. The children were seated quietly on their chairs, writing and occasionally looking up shyly at us. I didn’t know whether to feel pity at these little ones, or anger at the government for being too slow in its rehabilitation efforts, or admiration for the teachers for devoting themselves to their pupils even to the point of shelling out their own precious pesos on chalk. Not one of them was complaining, something that really struck me. I could feel their genuine love for their work as teachers.

Father Ron led everyone in a simple prayer thanking God for a beautiful day and for blessing the children with a roof over their heads. After that everyone shared songs, dances and laughter. I took the camera and started capturing the smiles on the children’s faces. Their smiles were too contagious and warmed me all over. Even the parents who shared with us about their experience when Yolanda ravaged their island recalling how all their fishing boats were damaged, were smiling all the time. All on the island survived with coconuts and bananas for three days until a helicopter dropped some relief goods.

There was something about the people in Calagnaan that reminded me that real peace is best experienced in the midst of a storm, just like Jesus showed us in Matthew 8:24, ‘Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping’. Their roofs were blown away, their boats damaged, their crops destroyed but they kept calm and simply waited for the storm to be over.