MANILA, Philippines?Ferdinand Llanes would not believe the horror stories until he saw for himself the devastation wrought by Tropical Storm ?Ondoy? in their community in East Fairview, Quezon City, on Sept. 26.

Llanes, who moved to the middle-class community with his family several years ago, said he thought their place would be spared when floodwaters inundated the metropolis.

?I was in our house on that tragic day. I was sure the floodwaters would not even reach the ankles in our village,? he said.

To satisfy his curiosity, the history professor at the University of the Philippines decided to take a walk around his community for a bit of ?social investigation.?

Waterway community

It was only then that he realized that clusters of shanties had already mushroomed along a waterway close to their subdivision.

Aptly named Sitio Bagong Barrio, the place was home to hundreds of informal settlers beside the Tullahan River.

?I was really shocked with what I saw. Almost all the shanties there were swept away by the water when the river swelled,? he said.

But what struck him most, he said, was the sight of mothers helping their children dry their soaked notebooks under the sun.

Said Llanes: ?That scene just stoked my instincts as a teacher and historian in me. I wish I could help those kids save the lessons written in their notebooks.?

Valuable notes

?As a historian, I was trained to value notes written down even on small pieces of paper,? said Llanes, who has been teaching history at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus in Quezon City for over 20 years now.

Before he headed home, he already set his mind on helping the schoolchildren recover from the grief that ?Ondoy? caused them?by providing them with notebooks.

Limited resources

?Instead of bringing them noodles or canned goods, I said, why not notebooks? It was a simple, yet very valuable donation for students,? he said.

Llanes knew the task would be financially draining for him, being a government employee with a slim pay check .

Like many Filipinos did, he shared his Ondoy experience in a personal account on the well-known social network website Facebook.

Hope for children

?The idea was simply to show how all of us can help others in need, and the lessons that may be shared in making sure the donations reach the recipients,? he wrote in his Facebook account.

?It?s not about recovering the damaged notes, but giving the schoolchildren a chance to start again and help them hope for a better future,? Llanes told the Inquirer.

Almost immediately after, he got a response from a US-based sorority ?sis? from the Pi Sigma Delta Sorority. who wanted to help the flood victims.

Timely visit

His alumni fraternity ?brods? from the Pi Sigma Fraternity also expressed their willingness to help bring the UP professor?s modest dream a reality.

Llanes said his visit to the principal of Bagong Silangan Elementary School (BSES) in Barangay Bagong Silangan, Quezon City, further bolstered his resolve.

Located on a low-lying portion on the boundary of San Mateo, Rizal and Quezon City, the village was one of the worst-hit areas in Metro Manila.

Major loss

?The principal said all of their students lost their notebooks and text books after the floods,? he recounted.

?He also asked for school uniforms. But I said this was something corporate sponsors could probably provide because our funding was limited,? Llanes said with a laugh.

Ready with plan

In two weeks? time, Llanes was ready to carry out his plan after collecting a substantial amount of cash donations from his ?brods? and ?sisters.?

Still, one question remained unanswered: How do we distribute the notebooks?

Distribution network

Llanes said other Pi Sigma members in UP Diliman volunteered to shop around for low-priced notebooks and distribute them to students who lost theirs during the typhoon.

With Llanes? efforts, the fraternity members were able to give out notebooks to 4,000 grade one and grade two pupils in BSES and Fairview Elementary School (FES).

Last Tuesday, 5,000 notebooks were distributed to North Fairview Elementary School, BSES and FES.

To the provinces, too

Taking the cue from Llanes? efforts, the fraternity also brought notebooks and relief goods to five public schools in Aringay, La Union province and Binmaley in the province of Pangasinan on Oct. 24.

?As mundane as it may seem, our notebook campaign was well-appreciated by the residents. Seeing them smile was enough for us to be inspired and continue what we have started,? said lawyer Tom Uribe, who led the notebook distribution in the provinces.