Flash floods have wiped out many of the areas where our family ministered in the summer of 2007. Cagayan de Oro, and other towns in Misamis Oriental on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, have suffered extensive damage.There were 3 floods in a 3-day interval at the beginning of the year. Then, It happened again and again, last January 11 and 13, 2009. A newly launched provincial website: http://misor.info, provides the following information:
Total Affected Municipalities: 20
Total Affected Cities: 2
Total Affected Barangays (large neighborhoods): 166
Total Affected Families: 15,889
Total Affected Persons: 75,569
Total Number of Evacuation Centers: 4
Damaged homes: 1490
They believe it is costing nearly 3 million dollars per day due to damage to crops, lands, livestock, homes, etc.
One of the places we worked in while we were in Cagayan de Oro in 2007 was Marcos Bridge. The homes sit very near a river underneath a highway bridge. The entire area was subjected to the flood. What makes this especially difficult is that it is one of the poorest barangays. Many of these people struggle to have food each day and to keep their roofs from leaking. These are families that may have one working member who earns dollars in a day. Now they are flooded and have lost nearly everything they have. The last picture is one of Tara and me standing in the middle of homes in Marcos Bridge. You see no water there but it is less than a football field away from there to the river’s normal edge. The floods put this all under water.
We’ve looked into ways of going to aid in the relief work that will be taking place because we have so many friends there. However, due to another scheduled trip at the end of this month, we are likely going to be unable to make the trip. We plan to send financial aid to those who will be going (from The King’s Lodge in England, the YWAM base where we lived much of the past two years) and would love it if others would also consider donating to the cause.
For less than 20 dollars we can provide a family food for two weeks, a blanket, and a bible in their language. They’ve lost nearly everything, and these things are the basics of life. If 16,000 families have been affected, you can see that it will take at least 320,000 dollars just to give these families the basics of life. The group that I know that is going from the UK is planning on trying to help at least 1000 families. That means raising 20,000 dollars (plus the cost of travel for a group of about 5 people and food for the Filipino relief workers they will be joining in the Philippines). Can you consider giving to needy families in the Philippines?? Please let me know or give electronically via Paypal by pressing the donate button on this blog. 100% of funds given will be sent to the relief effort.
Regan playing with a girl who was the same age as she.
Here we are standing in 2007 where the floods have gone in Marcos Bridge.