A Single Mother’s Perseverance in the face of Super Typhoon Odette
Aracele is a Barangay Health Worker and single mother who lives with her 10-year-old son and 76-year-old father. To survive Typhoon Odette they had to cling to their neighbor’s gate, and when the storm cleared, all their belongings were destroyed. Through Australian Aid, they were able to receive relief goods that allowed them to rebuild what they have lost.
9 June 2022
Aracele is a native of Malabuyoc, Cebu. She is a 45-year-old single mother who works as a Barangay Health Worker and volunteers in their community. She has one child, a boy named Marc who is a 10-year-old Grade 5 student. They live with Aracele’s father, Anecito, a 76-year-old barangay councilor.
On the night of December 16th, Aracele’s town experienced not only heavy rainfall but also swirling winds. The rushing of muddy water, debris, and dirt coming from the nearby mountain made deafening sounds and was felt in the late hours of the evening.
To survive the flood, Aracele, Marc, and Anecito held hands and hung onto the gate of a neighbor’s house. As the water kept getting higher and almost going over their heads, they went with others in one of the neighbor’s houses, where they stayed for the whole night. At around 4:30AM the next morning, they were finally rescued.
After the storm cleared, they went home. Aracele said she cried because most of their personal belongings were washed away, and the little that they had left were destroyed by the mud and floodwater. Despite this, Aracele said that they were still blessed because they were all alive and safe. After the typhoon, they had no water, light, and communication. It was hard for them to clean their house and surroundings due to the lack of water. Potable water was not available in the area, so they had to buy mineral water in the other municipality eight kilometers from their house. They repaired their roof, cleaned their house, and fetched water from the river. All the barangay officials and barangay health workers worked hand-in-hand in a bayanihan system to clean the whole barangay by cutting the fallen trees and doing other tasks.
“Malaking pasasalamat kasi kahit papano may non-government organization na tumutulong sa amin, nagbigay ng malaking importansya sa amin na naapektuhan sa bagyong Odette. Maraming salamat sa Plan International at Australian Aid,” says Aracele
(I am very thankful that there are non-government organizations that are helping us and giving us attention after being affected by Typhoon Odette. Thank you so much to Plan International and Australian Aid.)
As a Barangay Health Worker of Poblacion Uno, she participated in all of the activities conducted by Plan International and volunteered to be part of the selection committee in their barangay. Their activities included selection of the targeted beneficiaries, cash grants distribution, and other community-based activities of the barangay. Aracele received support from Australian Aid which help addressed the immediate needs of her family. The support included provision of essential items such as shelter materials, food, water, and non-food items: 2pcs toothbrush, 2pcs children’s toothbrush, 2 tubes of toothpaste (95ml), 3pcs bath soap, 2 dozen shampoo sachets, 2 pcs large plastic comb, 2 pcs medium plastic comb, 1pc small plastic comb, 1pc nail cutter, 2 bars of laundry soap, 1pc plastic pail with lid (16 liters capacity), 1pc plastic pail with lid (10 liters capacity), 2pcs face towel, 1pc big dipper, 1pc jerry can with faucet (20 liters capacity), 6-meter blue sack, waterproof tarpaulin, and a 16-meter plastic rope (3, 7, or 12 mm thick). These items have been a great help to her and her family’s efforts to start anew and build back their lives after the devastation brought by Typhoon Rai.
Aracele is just one of the many affected and vulnerable families that were reached by support from the Australian Aid. The project funded by the Australian Aid through their country’s Department of Trade and Foreign Affairs has been implemented in partnership with the local government unit of Malabuyoc, Cebu. It aims to address the immediate humanitarian needs and promote the recovery of 375 vulnerable and at-risk women, children and men and people with disabilities affected by Typhoon Rai through provision of (i) essential items such as shelter material, food, water, and non-food items; (ii) livelihood assistance; and (iii) protection services and referral pathways.
Related pages
