Tacloban folk battlecry: Cleanup. Photo by Kristine Angeli Sabillo
TACLOBAN City, Philippines – On one rainy afternoon, residents of this city were seen milling around, carrying wood, pulling pails or any container that would help transport debris.
Moving along the streets slicked with black mud, the people worked in clockwork fashion, transporting trash and what used to be their homes into neat piles, later to be loaded into dump trucks.
“We’re cleaning our village,” one resident told INQUIRER.net. She said they all agreed to work together and rid their town of the debris brought by Supertyphoon Yolanda’s deadly storm surge.
Two weeks after the monster typhoon hit Eastern Visayas and nearby provinces, the people of Tacloban City and other hard-hit areas have yet to recover from the devastation that left at least 5,200 people dead and half a million families homeless. But the city has been showing signs of change. From stores opening up to numerous clean-up drives, residents have been struggling to rebuild their lives.
Read: Life goes on in Tacloban
In another area, smiling men and women were lined-up, passing pieces of wood towards a stack of debris along the main road.
Vic Alburo of the Taiwan-based Tzu Chi Foundation said it was part of their cash-for-work program in coordination with the government.
He said they were focusing in areas left untouched by authorities.
“There are still a lot of trash and buried corpses in that area. We need to remove the debris to also recover the dead bodies,” he said, adding that the day before, they found six corpses in one village.
At present, around 70 bodies are still being recovered every day in the city. Many are hidden under toppled houses.
Read: Lack of body bags, tools slow down ‘Yolanda’ search
The foundation launched their cash-for-work program last Wednesday and at least 5,000 residents aged 16 and older have already participated.
“They were given allowance and are enthusiastic. They are happy,” Alburo said of the participants.
He said they also noticed the positive effect of the cash-for-work program on the market. Local businesses benefit as residents now earn money.
“We are not only helping to clean the place, we also want the economy to return to normal,” he said.
Alburo said the international humanitarian organization will continue their cash-for-work program until the whole city is rid of debris.
Asked how much was allotted for the program, he said, “There is no limitation. As long as people need help, we are there to help.”
Across the street, locals continued to clear the inner roads. Occasionally, a resident would ask for a piece of wood, in the hopes of rebuilding his house.
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