ILIGAN CITY—An international aid organization that has seen the worst of what war and climate change could do to man has come here to replace one of the most crucial things that such manmade and natural disasters strip human communities of—shelter.
ShelterBox, an international organization based in United Kingdom with 21 affiliates worldwide, brought its green shelter boxes to this city to build temporary homes for those that the Dec. 17 disaster here and Cagayan de Oro City uprooted from their communities and way of life.
Each box contains a tent that, according to the ShelterBox website, is “designed to withstand extreme temperatures, intense ultraviolet light, high winds and heavy rainfall.”
Inside each box also are thermal blankets, sheets, water storage and filtration equipment, cooking utensils, stove, basic tool kits and children’s activity packs. The box itself may be used for storage or as cot for infants.
Bernie Dominguez, 39, a welder, was among those that moved into the ShelterBox tent with an extended family of seven in a tent city laid out with the help of the Rotary Club on a government-owned lot near a bus terminal in Barangay Tambo.
“It is far better here than in our makeshift house,” said Dominguez.
Dominguez’s wife, two children, a nephew, brother-in-law and mother-in-law survived floods brought by Tropical Storm “Sendong” and aggravated by official folly last Dec. 17. They, however, lost their house in Barangay Barinaut.
A day after the tragedy, Dominguez gathered what remained of his family home and built a hut that barely protected them from the elements. Donated blankets became walls.
Dominguez’s family stayed in this contraption until ShelterBox came with its boxes, which have been to various other disaster sites in the world.
Daisy Mendoza, 31, who lost her home in Bayug Island, said the tents offer her and other families a chance to start rebuilding their lives.
Leahn, Daisy’s daughter, views life in the tent in terms of what new things this brings. “It’s like camping,” said the nine-year-old.
Nods Dalman, volunteer manager of the tent city, said at least 80 tents have been set up as of last week and these have been occupied. At least 70 more are coming, according to Dalman.
Workers laid the groundwork for the tent city starting last Dec. 20, filling marshy ground with soil and sand.
Tents are a meter apart and rows of tents are two meters apart to make way for foot paths.
The city is divided into zones by roads wide enough for vehicles to pass through. Street lights are put up every 10 meters, being the only source of lighting for tent occupants who are allowed, too, to bring battery powered or rechargeable lamps.
Each tent has a number for identification. Heads of households are identified in so-called address cards that are posted on the tents.
Sanitation comes in the form of a few toilets and baths at the motor pool of the local government but aid workers said portable toilets are on their way.
According to Dalman, a communal kitchen would be built for tent residents to cook in and avoid fires in tents. Donors are to build a water tank soon.
Aid packages would be delivered to the tent residents so there won’t be any need for them to queue for these.
In this city alone, at least 4,800 families lost their homes and about 11,000 more families couldn’t stay in their damaged houses.
ShelterBox finances its operations through donations. According to the group, each green box and its contents cost 590 euros. Ryan D. Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao