Philippines disaster diary: putting a brave face on Christmas
Around this time every year, my family home in Manila glows with lights. I still remember how special Christmas was when I was growing up. The celebrations lasted for days, catching up with loved ones and old friends. The Philippines is famous for its long Christmas period: you can hear Christmas songs on the radio as early as 1 September.
This year will be different for me, because I'll be spending Christmas in the areas hit by typhoon Haiyan, having been on deployment with World Vision in Ormoc for the past few weeks. Power is still not fully restored after Haiyan, and I find the darkness unsettling. At night, most houses here use gas lamps and candles. Living without electricity for more than a month has definitely changed city life in this part of Leyte.
Instead of the rituals of decorating the house and wrapping presents, this Christmas is a time of rebuilding for thousands of families who have lost their homes. Every morning, I'm woken by the sound of heavy hammers and loud chainsaws: the rhythmic heartbeat of the city being rebuilt. The holiday hustle and bustle includes various recovery and rehabilitation activities going on five weeks after the typhoon.
Noche Buena, Christmas Eve, is when Filipinos usually have their big family meal, and maybe open some presents. Not many families affected by the typhoon will be able to do that. But we have heard of a devastated Leyte village where members of the community have made and hung lanterns, and encouraged others to write Christmas messages that hang by them.
Typhoon-affected houses are bereft of holiday decorations, but the genuine spirit of giving, sharing and love still abounds as people help one another out. Everywhere I look, people are busy cleaning up their yards, clearing debris from the road, and fixing the roofs of their homes. There are no elaborately decorated Christmas trees. Out here, fallen trees are used as slabs of wood to rebuild family homes – including those of grandparents whom children usually visit on Christmas Day to share presents and chocolates.
But it's still hard for families in typhoon-stricken areas not to be able to have the best possible Christmas celebrations for their children this year. Haiyan took not only their homes but also their livelihoods. I wonder how mothers cope with this – we see them working so hard to fend for their children and make ends meet.
I met Jessa in an area where World Vision is providing special spaces for women and young children – for education, play, breastfeeding advice and more. She's due to give birth to her first child any day now, and her Christmas wish is simply a safe and healthy delivery. There are thousands of pregnant women in the affected areas of the Philippines who are due to give birth before the year is out. I can't even imagine how frightening it is to have your first baby amid all the destruction and uncertainty left by the world's strongest typhoon.
I chanced upon Brian, one of the few fathers who accompanied his wife and children to one of the safe spaces. His interest in being there clearly showed how much he loved his wife and two children. This is no ordinary Christmas.
It takes a community to raise children and nurture them back to some sort of normality after Haiyan took so much away. It takes a community to bring back Christmas as well. Along with some colleagues, I am staying here over Christmas. We'll be in the field without our families, but the people here keep us going. They make us feel at home, even without tinsel and lights.
lights.