you said, you have problems?

It's a devastation that is not only close to home. It is home.

There's a colleague who had a family who didn't eat for days. We have Tacloban, a provincial capital being reduced to wasteland. Lives are lost.

I know strong winds. It's a staple in our lives. During the many hours of blackouts during the most catastrophic of typhoons growing up, all I could think of was, "please, don't blow away the roof, if the roof goes, what will become of us?" But as time goes by, the winds are getting fiercer, more menacing. When I rang home a few hours ago, there's substantial damage to our roof that needs repair.

But order is still in Bacolod, it's not as bad as in Leyte. The hubby was talking about our infrastructures not up to scratch. We should not live in wooden houses. Yes, because in a country where most people live below poverty line, the first thing we secure is the most expensive of materials for our shelter, brick and stones for every one. Forget about food, forget about water, forget about clothing, forget about the minuscule salary, forget staying alive.

But despite the hardships, the fatalities, we take stock about our lives and have this will power to be grateful and also to help out in every little way possible. Just imagine yourself losing loved ones, starving and wrestling with mosquitoes and a sense of helplessness.

One day, we won't have shanties in the Philippines. We won't have floods? When a super typhoon is about to hit, we will evacuate every single individual who live in wooden houses and let them stay where? Hotels? Shopping Centres?

As of now, we lend a helping hand, make a contribution, in whatever form.