After Ketsana’s fury, a lot were left homeless and hungry and it is predicted that water will not subside fast enough so some cannot go back to their homes or they are left homeless because the floods took away their houses.

In spite of the hopeless situation, there are a lot of people willing to help who made the covered courts of Ateneo de Manila University a Gawad Kalinga head quarters for helping. Donations were accepted, bagged one by one and sent to various areas which were hit hard during Ketsana’s rage.

I was able to witness people coming in with a lot of goods being dropped off and bagged. Cars come and go and people walk in with boxes of various goods. Once bagged and prepared, the volunteers composed of students from alumni people, college, middle and primary school transfer the goods to the trucks lent by various companies to assist the cause. Team work and sense of social responsibility was in the air thus, everyone tirelessly helped out transferring goods to the trucks by forming a line from the bagged goods to the trucks, passing the goods by hand.

I joined the student volunteers who went to GK Sitio Ruby, a convoy of 2 trucks, 2 pickups and 2 cars full of bagged goods such as toiletries, clothing, food and rice. We arrived seeing that there are a few misplaced items which we believe were salvaged from the lower areas of the village that were submerged during the rage of the storm. There were also people washing their clothes because all of the clothes got wet and in thick mud.

I think there were around 20 volunteers all in all who went to the site. We arrived late in the evening and ended around 1am. Together with the locals, the volunteers were able to unload the goods at there chapel, though everything will be distributed tomorrow morning by the heads of the place for proper and equal disbursement. We left their chapel full of goods that can hopefully be of help to the residents of the place.

After everything, I know I can sleep well tonight knowing that I was part of a team that helped out people who are badly in need of assistance after the calamity. Hopefully tomorrow, I can gather more goods to give and hopefully join a trip to another hard stricken area.