Disaster Recovery: Promise of Abundant Life

Deputy General Secretary Denise Honeycutt, UMCOR, speaks with Bishop Francisco during a visit to Typhoon-impacted Philippines in January. Photo: Ciony Eduarte

By Rev. J. Denise Honeycutt
Deputy General Secretary of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)

It’s absolutely important to respond as soon as possible to a disaster, to be present with the people. In some ways, that’s the easy part. We see the news, it stirs our hearts, and we want to make a difference, and I believe God creates in us that impulse toward kindness and compassion. But we know recovery isn’t done in one moment; it’s a long journey.

In the Philippines, for example, after Typhoon Haiyan last November, UMCOR identified the building of permanent housing as a focus of our long-term recovery work—the typhoon damaged or destroyed more than a million houses. We’ve also provided locally purchased emergency food relief and simple water filtration systems, and are beginning to provide psychosocial care to survivors.

I visited the Philippines in January and was invited into several storm-damaged homes that UMCOR had provided with water filtration systems. One woman kept drinking glasses and glasses of water to show me the water was good to drink. And she was so happy, first of all, because her children weren’t going to get sick. But she also was happy because the money her family had been spending on bottled water could now be spent to start to rebuild their home and put their life back in place.

A GlobalMedic Rapid Response Team representative shares how the water filtration systems works to UMCOR's Deputy General Secretary Denise Honeycutt and International Disaster Response executive Jack Amick in the Philippines.  Photo: Ciony Eduarte

I’m grateful for your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing. They make UMCOR’s immediate and long-term presence with disaster survivors possible. You can—and you are—making a difference, when you give to UMCOR. Thanks to your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing, 100 percent of every dollar given to our disaster response programs supports relief and recovery efforts and helps people reclaim the abundant life God intends for them.

In the Philippines, I walked with our in-country disaster response director, Ciony Ayo-Eduarte, and our International Disaster Response assistant general secretary, Rev. Jack Amick, through some of the communities where UMCOR had provided emergency food relief right after Typhoon Haiyan. And many of the residents recognized either Ciony or Jack, or they recognized the cross and flame imprinted on our truck, and they would stop us and say, “You’re UMCOR! You came to us when we most needed you!” UMCOR was there because of you; it was you the people recognized. Thank you, thank you.

UMCOR’s Return to Leyte

Rev. David Cosmiano is a United Methodist district superintendent for Eastern Visayas, a region heavily impacted by Typhoon Haiyan last November. Photo: Jerome Mercado

By David D. Cosmiano
District Superintendent, United Methodist Church
Eastern Visayas District, Philippines

On December 5-6, 2013, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) returned to Leyte Province in the Philippines to distribute relief goods among survivors of Typhoon Yolanda, or Haiyan, as the storm is known outside of our country. UMCOR is an agency of the global United Methodist Church and is in charge of relief operations whenever there is a natural or a human-caused calamity.

Super Typhoon Yolanda hit Eastern, Central, and Western Visayas on November 8, 2013. It devastated the entire region. Thousands of lives were lost, and livelihoods were washed away. UMCOR staff and volunteers first came with a relief convoy to the region about a week after the storm.

When they came again in early December, they distributed relief goods in several communities, including where we have local United Methodist churches. UMCOR’s emergency food packages were distributed to many survivors in the communities who were in need. I accompanied the UMCOR staff and volunteers on this visit to Ormoc City, Isabel, and Tacloban City.

The families served by UMCOR on this relief trip expressed gratitude that our United Methodist Church remembered them in times of calamity. We saw an inspiring banner in Ormoc City that read: “Homeless, Roofless, But NOT HOPELESS!”

When I visited Methodist households just before Christmas, I also stopped in to see some of the neighbors who do not belong to the church and who had received UMCOR food packets.  Many of them had saved the bright yellow UMCOR bags that had contained rice, beans, and other food items. 

I was so surprised to see the bags hanging on walls in the homes. When I asked the families why they displayed the bags they said, “It reminds us that UMCOR gave us something different, something more than we would normally get.”  UMCOR fills the emergency food packages according to international humanitarian standards.

Some of the people also took pictures of the contents of the bags and kept the picture to help them remember. That made me happy, because our church, through UMCOR, responded to the survivors. “You are a church that remembers,” they said.

I personally, and on behalf of The United Methodist Church in the Eastern Visayas District, thank UMCOR. Indeed, UMCOR gave us their time and concern, for we too are survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Four “Marys” of Batan

After receiving UMCOR food relief packages, this 66 year-old woman above said, "Alleluia! Thank you! Thank you very much!" Her thankful spirit wasn't defeated by Yolanda's (Typhoon Haiyan) fury.
Photo: UMCOR Philippines 

By Ciony Ayo-Eduarte*

Batan, in Aklan Province, in the central Philippines was the hard hit by Typhoon Yolanda (known outside the country as Typhoon Haiyan). Ninety percent of livelihoods and homes were devastated due to the town’s coastal location. Thanks to preemptive evacuations there were few fatalities in the November 8 storm, but the people will die slowly if the loss of livelihoods and shelter is not soon addressed.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and Dambana, an ecumenical disaster relief organization whose name literally means “altar,” traveled together last week to Aklan to deliver emergency food packages to communities in Batan. The long trip included two ferry transfers and hours of road travel, with around 25 tons of relief goods in a huge truck. We visited the communities, or baranggays, of Mandong, Songcolan, Mamboquiao, and Napti. Because the debris from the typhoon still litters the roads, we faced many challenges getting to the communities. For instance, our team had to pull up and carry an electric post just to allow our truck to pass. We also had to clear fallen wires and cut tree branches that blocked our way.

But all along our route, I was reminded of the Advent story (Luke 1:26-56) in which Mary is visited by the Angel Gabriel, who announces to her that she will conceive and bear the Son of the Most High. As a betrothed virgin, the supposed “good news” is not easy to accept. Troubled, Mary accepts and bears that news. But in the end, her song of praise loudly resounds: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name." (Luke 1:46-49)

In Batan, four such “Marys” welcomed us warmly. Like Mary of the Gospels, these women also were troubled by the events that surrounded them. They were living in the midst of loss, confusion, and other effects of Typhoon Yolanda. Many of the people in their communities had lost their homes, fishing boats, coconut trees (a major source of livelihoods), and their own family members. Yet, in the midst of this devastation, they were full of hope, and this hope resounded loudly in our hearts.

In Mandong, we were welcomed by former Baranggay Captain Excelsa Doroteo, whose damaged home became our place to meet, rest our tired bodies, and fill our empty stomachs. We were so moved to learn she had killed a pig to give us decent food. We told her that she doesn't need to do that, but she said we were helping a lot of families, and this is just a simple way to return goodness.

We were not able to reach the community of Mamboquiao as planned, due to obstructions in the road, so we distributed our emergency food packages in Napti. And that is where we met the other three “Marys.”  The second one happily came to me and said, "I am the only Methodist in this community. I used to live in Palawan and transferred here when I got married. I am so proud that as Methodists you are not only reaching out to our fellow members but to the entire community."

This “Mary” stayed near and kept watch over us during the distribution. When it began to get dark, she asked me, “Where will you eat?” I responded, “Wherever we have the opportunity along the way.” Then I realized that the whole time she was watching us, she was sizing up the number of our group, trying to determine whether the emergency food package she had just received from UMCOR would be enough to feed us and provide for her family for an entire week. She wanted very much to welcome us into her home, but we knew that to agree would be to take food from her family. I was so blessed by the spirit and gesture of this woman.

Our third “Mary” is a 66-year-old woman. I had asked our team members to relieve me for a while, and I went around and started conversing with people who had assembled. This “Mary” was waiting with other townspeople at the side of the road. I caught her in my camera lens, and started clicking. When I went to her, she made the sign of the cross and said, "Alleluia! Thank you! Thank you very much!” Then she hugged me and kissed me. I felt sincere and warm gratitude from this elderly woman. The devastation all around her had not broken her thankful spirit.

Diding Dela Cruz is a 55 year-old baranggay community health worker, helped those who could not carry the 16 kilos (35-pound) food packages. Photo: UMCOR Philippines

The fourth Mary was the strongest woman we have ever met. Usually, in the course of a distribution, we ask men and younger volunteers from the community to help those who are older, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and others who are unable to carry the 16-kilo (35-pound) food packages Diding De la Cruz, 55, helped a lot of the beneficiaries and, in fact, she kept coming back and forth to assist. We were so amazed that we asked her where she gets her strength. She said, “I’m a baranggay health worker. I’m used to helping others, and I am happy doing this. I cannot help with material resources, for I also suffered devastation, but what I can offer is my strength.” I was humbled. She gave what she had, and she gave it all.

Like Mary the mother of Jesus, these four women bring us back to a deep Advent spirituality: Radical hospitality in the midst of uncertainty, even in the midst of devastation. They show us the true meaning of “open hearts, open doors, open minds,” by giving to all without regard to faith affiliation; by nurturing a thankful heart and a hopeful spirit even in the midst of ruin and death; and by extending their helping hand fully and unconditionally to others in need.

Likewise, to the many people around the world who are supporting UMCOR in different ways, we send you the warmest embrace: "Alleluia! Thank you! Thank you very much!"

*Ciony Ayo-Eduarte is the director of UMCOR’s office in the Philippines. Follow the Typhoon Haiyan relief and recovery work of UMCOR Philippines on Facebook.

UMCOR–Philippines Distributes Relief Goods in Visayas

A woman carries her emergency food supplies during UMCOR’s second Typhoon Haiyan relief-supplies distribution in Ormoc and Tacloban on December 5 and 6. Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, brought death and destruction when it barreled through the central Philippines on November 8.  

CREDIT: UMCOR Philippines

By Eduard M. Jocson*

After the devastating force of Super-Typhoon Yolanda (known outside the Philippines as Typhoon Haiyan) landed in the Visayas Region on November 8, 2013, staff and volunteers of the Philippines office of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR-Philippines) responded immediately to affected communities by distributing emergency relief goods. UMCOR’s mission is to alleviate human suffering, open hearts to all people and open minds to all religions. 

Yolanda was considered the strongest typhoon in the world in 2013. The storm killed about 6,000 people, while 1,779 people remain missing. It caused damages to infrastructure and agriculture estimated at a cost of 809 million US dollars. On November 19-20, the United Methodist Committee on Relief first distributed about 1,500 emergency food packages to communities in and around Tacloban City. Then on November 26, UMCOR volunteers, including both a regular core group and new volunteers from churches and from Harris Memorial College, helped prepare another 1,500 packages of relief goods. These were distributed to communities in Ormoc City and Tacloban City on December 5 and 6. Each of these distributions takes at least a full week to complete, including travel time from the north to the Visayas Region in the central part of the country.

There are many nongovernmental organizations, both local and international, that are helping to alleviate the suffering of the Filipino people. But the relief goods are not enough to bring back their normal life. There also is much we need to learn from experiences like this one, especially how to deal with people in times of disaster. As the human suffering increases, poverty, violence, and man-made disaster also increase. We need to understand the people and learn from them, and also to teach them how to minimize their vulnerabilities.

Survivor Story

“I am so thankful to God almighty that I am still alive after the Super-Typhoon Yolanda hit our community with such strong winds and also flooded us,” said Mr. Yulo Rosendal, a 59-year-old father who lived near the shore in Tacloban. He added that some of his family members died in the storm. He is a good carpenter, and thinks he may yet contribute to rebuilding the home of his pastor at the Light and Life Methodist Church in Tacloban City. 

Volunteers

As an adage goes, “no man is an island.” In times of trouble or disaster, we cannot rely on ourselves alone. Other people will complete our wholeness as a human person. This reflects the real story of the Harris Memorial College student deaconesses who helped in the packing of relief goods. They volunteered for this work as their classes are not in session. They were accompanied by the Rev. Charles Jenkins Mendoza, chaplain, and me, both of Harris Memorial College. All of the student deaconesses felt inspired by God to volunteer themselves to package the goods as a way to help survivors of Typhoon Yolanda. They said that they are always willing to volunteer and help people in need.

Volunteerism the acts of serving people

Volunteerism is the process of opening our hearts, minds, and doors to reach out to others not only in times of trouble but whenever help is needed.

Philosopher Thomas Hobbes claimed that man is by nature belligerent, selfish, and egoistic. But for me, the spirit of working and helping together to reach out to survivors of Typhoon Yolanda shows more compassionate values. I personally was asked by our program director to volunteer with UMCOR, and I responded without hesitation. Perseverance and compassion are my tools to serve people in need. I helped pack the relief goods and was so excited about participating in the distribution. It was my first experience of volunteering in the far-flung communities, and it filled me with emotion. 


*Eduard Jocson is a member of the staff of the Community Extension Services and Development Department at Harris Memorial College in the Philippines.

In the Philippines: The Sun Rises

The sun rises behind storm debris and trees stripped clean of vegetation by Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, Philippines. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose

By Linda Unger*

I am on my way back to the States after an eventful week in the Philippines assisting Typhoon Haiyan survivors in the hard-hit city of Tacloban and surrounding towns. Our UMCOR convoy departed Sunday, November 17, from Dasmariñas in Cavite Province, made the 36-hour drive, distributed emergency food packages over the course of two days to abundantly grateful survivors, and returned to Manila via the ruined local airport in Tacloban.

What stood out? In Palo, which lies next to Tacloban and about a kilometer from the sea, there was an especially eerie quiet—no sound of chainsaws clearing a path through the debris, just the occasional hammering; from inside our passing car we watched as forensics specialists put two bodies into body bags and photographed the scene, and it seemed as though we were watching a silent movie. Everywhere, the ruined coconut crop lay in piles of shredded brown—brown, in fact, was the dominant color: of the spoiled branches of the coconut palms, the seared hillsides, the mud underfoot, and the piles of wet wood and other debris lining the roadsides. Brown, brown, brown—and it was quiet like a family in mourning.

Trees were shorn of their branches, the stubby remains of which reached wanly to the sky—“arms too short to box with God.” Too short, too shocked, too stunned and exhausted. The storm surge in Palo, a kilometer from the sea, and Tacloban shoved everything in its path out of its path, depositing it where it didn’t belong: in fields, on roofs, and in piles of what sometimes looked like junkyard wreckage. Filipino flags and painted slogans called for strength, affirmed courage, but down each side street—where there had been side streets—lay more wreckage. The Roman Catholic cathedral in Palo allowed its grounds—where many of the severed tree branches and parts of trunks had come to rest—to be used for a mass grave. The figures of two angels, standing high above where the cathedral doors used to be and beneath the roof that no longer is, remained inexplicably intact and watchful. Palo, particularly, made me think of pictures I’ve seen of cities bombed in the Second World War.

We drove back at night from the town of Dagami, through Tanauan and Palo, to Tacloban after our second day of distributing emergency food packages. The night was black as pitch. The full moon that had cheerfully accompanied us from Dasmariñas was, by this time, in retreat and covered, besides, with black-on-black storm clouds. Every once in a while a small, bright, red-orange family fire gave a sign of life and challenged the darkness with its warmth and beauty.

Where destruction is so pervasive, one looks for signs like that, signs of hope. And there were at least two other such signs that penetrated the desolation which I became aware of: one is found in that great dynamic of neighbors helping neighbors; the other, in the very remembrance that the sun rises.

Freddie Santos (left) and Angelo Catanga work to erect a temporary roof for a friend whose home was laid open to the sky by Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, Philippines. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

At the height of the storm, seventeen-year-old Dilmar Barnizo made a rope and pulled people out of the fast-moving storm surge and up to the roof of his family’s home in a vulnerable community in Tacloban. Christian Tabao hosted about 50 of his neighbors, even as his own home was being severely damaged by the typhoon’s high winds. His house is on a hill, and they would be safe there from the floodwaters, so he took them in. On the road we stopped to talk briefly with two men, Freddie and Angelo, who were helping a neighbor put up a temporary roof on a badly damaged home, a first step toward rebuilding a community. And there were more stories and scenes like these.

And, yes, the sun rises, even though, in the midst of so much destruction, it may seem impossible. For survivors, it rises and announces the start of a new day—a day perhaps eerily quiet, but a new day nonetheless. The sun rises, and we can do… something—to ease another’s burden and to make this day better than the day before….

*Linda Unger is senior writer for the General Board of Global Ministries.

UMCOR Executive Reflects on Hands-on Theology

Jack Amick, center, with Typhoon Haiyan volunteers and family food packs. Photo courtesy UMCOR Philippines. 

By Jack Amick

Sometimes, the best way to learn is by doing. That principle seems to be especially true when you’re learning about God’s love. That’s why the UMCOR Philippines office was full this morning. It was full of food and theologians. Young seminary students wanted to help and learn. Stacks of 50 kilo rice bags filled the hallway as 25 students, mostly women, from the Philippines Mission Institute, began their work of making food packets for families impacted by Typhoon Haiyan. 

These young women were soon joined by students from nearby Union Theological Seminary. But these volunteers were not just students. They were champions. They were the champion varsity football (soccer) team – and their coach. 

“These are my champs,” boasted UMCOR Philippines Director Ciony Eduarte. “They are my most experienced and dedicated volunteers. They do the quality control to make sure there are no missing items.” 

Her comment about missing items reminds me that UMCOR is intentional about reaching those on the margins and in crisis, making sure no one is missed. 

As the evening wore on, the young men were expecting their skateboarder friends to come help out. “Everyone here is eager to help,” Eduarte noted.

By the end of the day, over 800 relief bags were completed, adding to the hundreds that have been assembled in the past few days.

UMCOR's role in Typhoon Haiyan

On Nov. 8, Typhoon Haiyan battered parts of the Philippines. It cut a swath of devastation through the three large island provinces of Samar, Leyte and Bohol. 

UMCOR approved a grant to provide emergency food, water, and water purification tablets to 7,500 people (about 1,500 families) in Tacloban City, Leyte Province, which was devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan. 

UMCOR volunteers in Manila have turned locally procured food into family packets, each of which will provide a family of 5 in the affected area with emergency food for around 5 days and costs $50.

Relief efforts are being funded through the UMCOR International Disaster Response Advance #982450. 100% of all gifts will be used to help people in need.

Jack Amick is at the UMCOR Philippines office in Manila and shared this reflection. He is the Assistant General Secretary, International Disaster Response for UMCOR.

UMCOR Congratulates the Asian Rural Institute

(Second from left) Jonathan McCurley, a Global Minstries' missionary serving the Asian Rural Institute in Japan, and Melissa Crutchfield, UMCOR's associate general secretary (center), during a visit to the institute in 2012. Photo: James Rollins

UMCOR Associate General Secretary Melissa Crutchfield greets Asian Rural Institute on the occasion of the institute’s 40th anniversary of founding in Togichi, Japan,

September 16, 2013.

Good morning!  It is an honor for me to have the opportunity to bring you greetings from the United Methodist Committee on Relief and the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church. As one member of an esteemed group of international ecumenical supporters of the Asian Rural Institute, it is truly an honor for me to be here with you this morning, celebrating 40 years of a ministry that represents our common calling to love, empower, and encourage all God’s people while promoting dignity, justice and peace across the globe. 

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (known as UMCOR) and Global Ministries have a particularly special relationship with ARI, starting from the very beginning.  We have a “shared DNA” – ARI’s founder Takami-sensei had a close friendship and collaboration with former UMCOR staffer Harry Haines, and ARI has since been the host of numerous United Methodist mission interns, Global Justice Volunteers, missionaries (hi, Jonathan!), and participants. 

As the humanitarian relief and development organization for The United Methodist Church, UMCOR’s natural partnership with ARI was renewed and strengthened in the aftermath of 3/11, when we were called together to rebuild the buildings and the lives of so many affected by the triple disaster.  Sharing our stories of this time of recovery also enabled us to lift up the good work of ARI and raise awareness and funding for scholarships and other important support for their mission. This immense tragedy presented us with a true blessing and opportunity in disguise, and has really deepened our relationship with ARI in such a meaningful way. 

Those small seeds planted 40 years ago, wishing to promote ecumenical partnership and cooperation from a base in Japan through agricultural training and outreach, have grown into a flourishing crop of alumni and partners from all over the world and from all walks of life.  It is humbling for us to know we have been a part of something which has touched so many lives and so successfully embodied our shared mission.  On behalf of your ecumenical partners, congratulations to ARI on your growing legacy and the impact you are making all over the world. And on behalf of all for your ecumenical partners, thank you again for letting us be a part of it.