HELP! Barangay Rizal, Siargao Island, Phillipines

Hi everyone. My name is Chie Febra.

 

I was born and raised in Barangay Rizal, Siargao Island in the Philippines, the first island hit on December 16th by Typhoon Odette (also known as Typhoon Rai), a Signal 5 strength super typhoon. Tragically, I lost six members of my extended family who were killed in the storm. I mourn them with all who also love and miss them.

 

I have a mother, 3 sisters, 1 brother, their spouses and many nieces, nephews and other relatives who still live in our hometown of Barangay Rizal (just north of the municipality of Sta Monica on the northwest coast of the island). My husband and I have sent money to help them begin rebuilding their homes that were ripped apart in the storm.

 

While assistance is slowly beginning to help Siargao recover from the typhoon, it will take many months before basic services – roads, electricity, water, internet – are restored across the island.  Currently, food, water and basic supplies are scarce, with costs significantly higher than pre-typhoon levels. Unfortunately, little humanitarian assistance is getting into my small and remote community so far.

 

With a new year comes renewed hope! So, I decided to organize this fundraiser to help rebuild our school and church in Barangay Rizal – places where our community would come together in better times to educate our children and for community celebrations and events. I also want to help buy books that were lost in the typhoon so children can get back to school as soon as possible. In addition, I want to help my neighbors who have no one other than other community members to rely on (who are themselves trying to rebuild).

Everyone in my community is in need! Many are sleeping in homes without roofs during the rainy season. Others have had their homes destroyed, with no ability to rebuild them.

 

I ask for your assistance to help my community! It doesn’t matter the amount you can give. Every amount will help. I also ask that you please share this your friends, family, and social network. If everyone gives even a little, we can make a huge impact for the approximately 1500 people of Barangay Rizal who may otherwise be among the last to receive the charity and assistance that many other larger and more urban communities in the Philippines are receiving.

 

Thank you! God bless you! Please keep Barangay Rizal, Siargao Island in your prayers.

 

Thank you so much!

 

Chie Febra

 

 

While the church in Barangay Rizal is still standing, it will require extensive repairs to make it again a place where my community can come together.

 

This is what is left of the school in Barangay Rizal. We need to rebuild it and restock it with books so children can return to learning!

 

Dramatic video footage of Typhoon Odette’s wrath as it wrecks homes and communities, and the devastation left in its wake. I can’t validate what specific communities in the Philippines this footage was shot in, but its devastation closely represents the impact experienced in my community of Barangay Rizal.