Polangui, Albay

Saturday, February 3, 2007

The Bicol Regions of Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay and Sorsogon were hit with a 1-2-3-4-5 punch of Typhoon Milenyo (Sept 27, 2006), relocation due to Mayon eruption, Typhoon Reming (Nov. 30, 2006), Seniang (December 7-12, 2006), and the Mayon landslide. The needs were great and FTH tried to put together 3 teams and CFO had 2 teams to meet the challenge. This is the 8th leg of a 10-town tour of FtH in the Bicol Region. This trip is the most memorable, exciting part of the FtH Bicol Tour.

Saturday, February 3, 2007- We left Malinao, Albay about 4:00PM, almost at the same time that we should already be in Polangui for the gift giving. We took the short cut, the less traveled road to Ligao, to reach Polangui as soon as possible. Between Tabaco and Ligao, the van provided by the mayor overheated due to a break in the water hose. Stranded in the mountain, in the middle of nowhere, later than late for our implementation in Polangui, with no signals to use our cell phones to call for help; Tess and Eve, in desperation, stopped a construction truck, a loaded jeep, and a tricycle driver just to be able to reach Polangui. The first 2 declined the “chance” to help FtH. The tricycle driver was not on duty, was just trying to buy ‘suka’ for the wife and he “agreed” , through the friendly persuasion of Tess and Eve, to take us to the “place” where we can get other transportation. That “place” is the bridge where the other half was washed away by the flooding and traffic were rerouted to another town. We walked down the river bed, crossed the flowing river through a foot bridge made of a single coconut tree, walked up to the top of the road, commandeered another tricycle with the driver’s family on board, until we met Eve’s brother in Ligao, who drove all the way from Baao to pick us up.

The FtH volunteers, somehow, one way or the other, by hook or by divine guidance, reached Polangui around 6:30 PM to the happiness of the 200 recipients in Barangay Magurang, who have been waiting patiently since early afternoon. Across the Barangay Hall, we can see the buildings with no roofs, damaged by the typhoons that are still waiting for repairs. After the gift giving, we were treated to diner by the Local barangay unit or Mr. Jun Carreon (the coordinator) or Ms. Teresita Rayala (I really don’t know who paid for the late diner but it was very good!), a friend of our friend Nins, a retiree of the World Bank, who requested the gift giving in Polangui. We checked with the driver we left behind in the mountain and he was able to make it back to Malinao. We went on to Baao, Albay and checked in Hotel Emelie, a new hotel in Baao. The room was spacious, looks very clean but a roach was the first to greet Tess ‘good evening’ in the bathroom. Then, we have to call for service for clogged shower, no hot water; but so what, we have outlived a worse situation in Iloilo City. It was a long day but it was worth it; and on to dreamland after a whole day work.

NOTES:

The preparation done by the CFO staff in coordinating the procurement and packing of the gifts, arrangement for the hotels and transportation for the volunteers, scheduling the gift giving with the local government units (LGU) and non-government officials (NGO) is incredible! And the bits and pieces of the puzzle all fall into its places. There were some delays and breakdowns but all were manageable and we were able to carry out the missions.

It was a fun trip of nine days. After 2 bottles of Robitussin DM, 30 capsules of anti-biotic provided by Nurse Malu in Bulan, a bottle of Listerine to gargle my sore throat, living in a hand carry luggage and a back pack of video camera, flashlight, camera, bottled water and TP; using one shoes and a pair of slippers; sleeping in 6 hotels with somebody snoring like me and me coughing all the time; practicing my ballrooms moves in 2 nights and after one breakfast; having a night swim in a hot spring in Irosin; having my $50 shoes repaired expertly by a child labor for $1 using his agile hands and crude tools; seeing the smiles of about 2,050 recipients having Christmas gifts in January; being able to locate the sites of eight (8) classrooms to be donated through FtH, I will do it again for FEED THE HUNGRY and the poor people of Bicol. If there’s a will, HE will show the way!

Pablito, Wednesday, February 28, 2007, at CFO.