typhoon while the superintendents, in turn, conducted their own meetings and informed their divisions that the direction
HOMELESS BUT NOT HOPELESS Luisa Yu “Typhoon Yolanda broke almost everything in Easters Visayas with its super-strength—homes, churches, schools businesses—but it wasn’t strong enough to break the resolve of the people in the region.” Luisa Yu led the DepEd Region VIII in rebuilding the schools that Typhoon Yolanda brought down in 2013. Recognizing the urgency to resume class as soon as possible, the regional office promoted school feeding, gave out hygiene kits, and led clean up operations.
PHOTO FROM RAE MARTIN PEDROSA
Typhoon Yolanda broke almost everything in the Eastern Visayas with its super-strength – homes, churches, schools, businesses – but it wasn’t strong enough to break the resolve of the people in the region. Some 50% of elementary schools and 57% of secondary schools in the five divisions of Region 8 were hardest hit. In total, around 50% or 840 out of 1, 665 schools were affected; 6,018 classrooms were partially damaged; and 1,567 were totally destroyed. When a single student under our care passes away, we cry. Can you imagine the heartbreak when 292 students, one education program specialist, one school head, 21 teachers, and seven non-
teaching personnel die in one quick stroke? What gave us the strength to get back on our feet was the image of over 250,000 students scattered all over the region who needed to see a sign that things would be okay and life would go on. Although the Department of Education Regional Office was almost completely brought down by Typhoon Yolanda, we were determined to make the school the sign that recovery was happening, and that life was moving back to normalcy. We had to muster all the strength that we could to rebuild the schools because the children couldn’t wait. To move things forward amid the destruction and uncertainty, we, at the Regional Office used an interim
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education headquarters in Baybay, Leyte until December 9, 2013. The regional training centers could not have been used because they have been declared totally damaged. Makeshift tents using tarpaulins and GI sheets were used instead. As a regional director of the Department of Education, my first move after the storm surge was to check on the status of the regional office. While the devastation and deaths that greeted me all over was depressing, it was heartwarming to see how other regional staff who survived the disaster braved the long and difficult walk on the streets that used to be so familiar but are now hardly recognizable with the dead and the survivors amid heaps and heaps of debris. Though we were a very small group, we started finding and locating other staff, school heads, and teachers to obtain data on our schools and students. To serve as a model in moving forward after the typhoon, the regional officers and staff started cleaning at the office every day. A series of Management Committee Meetings at the regional level were held immediately after the typhoon while the superintendents, in turn, conducted their own meetings and informed their divisions that the direction was to resume classes as soon as possible. No less than the Department of Education Secretary Armin Luistro and central office officials visited the schools and led in the cleaning and clearing operations. This ability of the Department of Education to be the first to respond strongly motivated everyone to start all over again. The DepED Regional Office promoted school feeding to encourage learners to go back to school. Learners were
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provided one meal a day three times a week. There were three feeding methods used: (1) Cash was given to parents to buy commodities and cook for the children. This approach, however, was not appropriate in some communities. (2) Uncooked rice was given for all the students to take home to their families after class. (3) Champorado or chocolate rice porridge with vitamin-infused chocolate was served in schools. Hygiene kits consisting of soap, toothpaste, and toothbrush were also provided. Each family was given a bath towel, a pail, and a basin. Recognizing that the resumption of school activities would provide the community a sense of normalcy, a soft launching for the resumption of classes was held on December 2, 2013. All teachers were required to be in school. While some of them lost family members, a small matter to lament about was that the storm surge also destroyed their make-up kits and washed away their school uniforms and decent clothes. Knowing what the teachers needed, we at the Regional Office gathered donations of teacher uniforms. To complete the package, a beauty product company donated lipsticks and makeup kits. This completed the teachers’ preparations for standing with a smile before their students. On January 6, 2014, classes officially re-opened. By January 15, 2014, 74% or 259,894 out of 353,354, elementary students and 78% or 98,220 out of 125,325 secondary students have gone back to school. The decrease in number was due to the human casualties and the migration and transfer of the students to Metro Manila or to Cebu. In holding classes during the emergency situation, a contextualized curriculum
was adopted by the Department of Education. A mix of contextualized curriculum and K to 12 especially for grades 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8 were used. The regular curriculum was used for those whose school buildings were not badly damaged. This emergency situation made us realize that international donors are ready to help during emergencies and that the regional officers should learn how to lead them. Some donors look for small schools while others want to donate specific items to all the schools. The important thing is to provide them data on what the schools really need.
Talking about resiliency reminds me of this incident about an interview conducted by a foreign correspondent with one female school head. The interviewer asked the school head to cry but she wouldn’t. The reporter got angry because the school head kept smiling. The school head said, “Why do you want me to cry when my smile is the only thing left by Yolanda? We may be homeless, but we are not hopeless.”
Source: The Children Could Not Wait: Lessons from the Field SEAMEO INNOTECH, November 2014
The disaster situation showed one more time the resiliency of the Filipinos – from children who made hammocks out of dead electrical wires to community leaders who still managed to console and help other people even if they were survivors themselves.
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