No Ordinary Shelter

NO ORDINARY SHELTER
Zandro Escat


I went for an assessment in one of the identified evacuation camp in Pikit together with some staff from Oblates of Mary Immaculate-Integrated Rehabilitation Program (OMI-IRP) one of our partner organization and the social welfare officer. On our way to Pido Pulangui, the staff informed me that the river is rising and will be impossible for us to visit the camps. I also observed makeshifts made from leaves of coconut lined up on the roadside. This is not a farm hut. These huts are shelter of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Some of it were abandoned because of the flood.

Maam Grace a social welfare officer of Pikit told me that they have a hard time reaching these IDPs. These IDPs slept on dirt with just leaves from coconut as their mats. When it rain, they are all wet. And now that the area is flooded, they left nowhere to sleep. Some slept on a “karusa” (a cart pulled by carabao/water buffalo). We try to reach them through medical missions and other relief activities. We have a problem in this area because, people won’t leave and the river overflows. Water may reach up to waist level. The IDPs won’t leave their belongings or maybe tired of packing their things. They prefer to stay than go anywhere else. They also found comfort here even in this situation. ZCE