While waiting for the group to arrive, I texted them, “Brace yourselves, guys. Grabe dito ang basura!” What they saw was really beyond what they have expected. The destruction and damage caused by typhoon Ondoy were really visible there.
Mountains of trash were everywhere. The streets were full of them – broken furniture and appliances, soiled clothing and personal belongings, even toys and books. There was also a foul smell – from the rotting garbage and dead animals. Grabe!
While we were scraping the mud and trash outside the house we were cleaning, somebody said, “If this has happened to the Americans, they would most likely just leave the place, move somewhere else and start all over again.” I said, “But the people here have nowhere else to go.” We both sighed.
Some wore rubber boots but most of us just have slippers. We thank the Lord that we were protected from getting leptospirosis. (A month after the flood, I saw at least five houses in the area with funeral wake, all deaths caused by the infectious disease.)
"We are like the people during the time of Nehemiah,” somebody from the group commented. True, everyone was doing their assigned task – one gathers the trash, another scoops them with shovel, and still another brings them to the dumping area. The Lord bless you, brothers!
(All photos courtesy of Pastor JDG)
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