Now the whole Badjao community is squashed onto 2 basketball courts.
As I walk around greeting the people I know I’m amazed they can still smile and enjoy small talk despite their difficult living conditions.
Some of the families are living in gazebos; the rest are in makeshift tarpaulin tents. It’s very hot and smelly in the cramped tent village. I have to duck down often because of the low roofs making it sticky in the heat. When it’s raining I need to dodge the leaks and water runoff from the roofs like hundreds of taps left on.
It was a great joy to help with the relief goods distribution. Before we can give to the people it takes hours of finding and buying what they need. Because of the huge quantities needed we go round several shops and market. Sometimes like when we gave a wood cooking stove to each family it felt like we brought every stove in town, we went to almost every shop to get the numbers we needed.
Items like the hygiene kits we gave out then have to be packed into bags (soap, toothbrush ect) that we give out to the people as a pack. Lots of smiles and happy people as we give out the supplies. We have a list of their names so as we read several names they come and collect their items as the next names are being read out. Some came to me asking for the items before their names are read out, But I told them “there is enough for everyone, wait till you hear your name so we know everyone gets help”.
Each distribution was a tiring long day but I am very happy to have been a part of it. The Badjao community was also happy to receive the help.
