Leyte Island, Philippines was hit by Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan on Nov. 8, 2013. Some of the strongest winds ever recorded drove on shore a wall of water up to twenty-five feet high with winds of over one hundred and forty miles an hour. The storm killed over ten thousand Filipinos. The school at San Joaquin Parish was a designated shelter during the storm. Many people perished when the school was flooded. There is a mass grave on the grounds of the parish. The children gather every afternoon at 3:30 to visit the graves of family members and friends.
Leyte Island, Philippines was hit by Typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan on November 8, 2013. Some of the strongest winds ever recorded drove on shore a wall of water up to twenty-five feet high with winds of over one hundred and forty miles an hour. The storm killed over ten thousand Filipinos and affected over fourteen million.
I arrived in Tacloban three months after Typhoon Yolanda’s wrath. I had made arrangements to live with the family of a friend from California. The Penero Family lives in Alang-Alang, a small village about ten miles from Tacloban on Leyte Island. In late January, 2014 there was still no electricity or running water in their home. The Peneros were extremely welcoming and gracious. They gave me an upstairs bedroom to myself. Their house was one of the few left standing on the island.
The school at San Joaquin Parish was a designated shelter during the storm. Many people perished when the school was flooded. There is a mass grave on the grounds of the parish. The children gather every afternoon at 3:30 pm to visit the graves of family members and friends. They light candles, as well as take flowers, favorite toys and personal mementoes to decorate the graves and show respect for their deceased loved ones. There was one group of children that had written valentines to their English teacher. There are many touching stories told to me by the children who lost one or all of their family members.
Michelle’s mother, sister and brother perished when the San Joaquin School flooded during the typhoon. Her sister had a barbie doll collection. On her birthday the family decorated the grave site with a large Barbie poster.
Carlos’ adopted mother died. His birth mother had abandon him when his father left home. Now, he and his sister live with his father and his step-mother.
Johnny was with two of his cousins visiting the grave of his mother, sister and two aunts. The toys they brought that day had belonged to his sister. They were all in one of the classrooms at the school when it flooded as the tidal wave hit. He was able to grab the top shelf of a bookcase to keep himself from drowning. He described in detail what it was like to see his mother floating in the water. Johnny’s father now has cancer, so he is living with his grandparents. The day I met Johnny he had written a valentine letter to his mother asking her to cure his father's illness.
Madelyn, who was tending to the grave of her best friend, said she thought she had gone to heaven but God answered her prayers and the water stopped rising. Half of the people who had sought shelter in the school perished that day.