Suba fire takes toll on mothers, babies

IT was already past midnight last Monday, but most of the mothers in the evacuation center in barangay Suba, Cebu City, are still awake, trying to calm their infants to sleep.

About 139 families lost their homes in Friday’s fire. Of this number, 70 are using the fishport as temporary shelter while 10 are in the barangay Suba Sports Complex according to data from the barangay Suba council.

Authorities say around 70 of the victims are aged 0-2 years old while 39 of these infants are in the evacuation centers.

Those not in evacuation centers are staying either in relatives or friends.

“This is the last scoop of milk for Kent,” said Geraldine Padayao while frantically shaking the infant feeding bottle as the 8-month-old baby screams either from hunger or discomfort.

Geraldine works as a sales lady in a textile store downtown. She was still at home when the fire gutted their rented house in Suba.

Despite their sordid condition Geraldine said they are still blessed. Her husband was able to save most of their clothes by carrying the plastic clothes cabinet away from last Friday’s inferno.

“There are a lot of mosquitoes and flies around. At night, the cement floors are all too cold for him. I’m afraid that he might get sick,” says Geraldine.

Cherry Pino also has the same concerns. Cherry was tending to her two months old daughter. She was trying to make Kristine Mae fall to sleep.

She said Kristine is having a hard time sleeping as the noise in their crowded temporary shelter disturbs the baby. Cherry too is worried her daughter might get sick from lack of sleep.

Cherry was at home when the fire broke out. All she did was grab her two children and carried them to safety.

“We were not able to save a single piece of clothing. My clothes and Kristine’s all came from donations,” Cherry said.

The house that got burnt down was owned by her parents. They have nowhere else to go and it will be hard for them to find a new place since her husband doesn’ t have a regular job.

“Our house then might not be well-built, but it was already home for us with my husband earning just enough to feed us,” she said. /Carine M. Asutilla, Correspondent