By Club Sec Minnie Talimio
There was a slight drizzle when we left for Lipa, Batangas last January 23. The rain was refreshing on that early morning as if heaven was blessing our mission. There were three of us from the island of Mindanao to represent the seventy-seven members of the Rotary Club of Cagayan de Oro East Urban of RID-3870. Our mission – to distribute relief goods to the victims of the Taal eruption.
Plying the South Luzon Expressway on our way to the INOSLUBAN INTEGRATED NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL (IIHNHS) which was converted into an evacuation center for about 2,000 refugees, I watch teary-eyed at so many vehicles bearing the names of the different organizations and carrying boxes and sacks, clearly on the same mission as us. At that moment I felt the kindness, the love and the bond of unity among these kindred spirits.
We ourselves were a convoy of six vehicles which included an army truck and a 20-foot wing van. I was amazed at how I was actually here and how it all started. I remember PP Mags Cue, herself a Batangueña, post an article in our group chat about the mass evacuation and her plan to help. Her idea snowballed and in a span of a few days, the contribution of the members headed by Pres. Linda Caragos, was overwhelmingly and unbelievably way above the expected amount that was targeted by the club.
In our wing van were newly purchased blankets, shirts, hygiene bags filled with towels and personal necessities, slippers, sets of underwear, jerry cans, and bottled waters, all thanks not only to the members of RCEU, but to the friends of the club who gave. There were 2,200 new and pre-loved tumblers given by another group and coursed through RCEU. Awaiting us at school was the Jollibee crew bringing packed meals for everyone and preparing a kiddie party to boot.
PP Mags was with her sons Patrick and Paolo who brought along their friends Yelim Mo andKatrianaBatu; her househelps; Rtn. Rita Lim and daughter Cookie Lim Caedo; selected Mags staff, some Conluck Construction workers headed by Cherry Ann Cue; Therese Ramos and her Creative Talent Management Crew; Judge Myla Villavicencio representing the SBC alumni; Rommel Magbao of Perfect Co; and employees of Origins Water Station and NingsBatchoy and Barbecue; and yours truly.
We were warmly welcomed by the coordinators and led to the covered court where the distribution was to take place. We passed by the evacuees’ make-shift homes inside the classrooms and they greeted us with sincere smiles. I was astounded by their positive attitude despite the condition that they are in. The resilience of the Filipino is a virtue that I came face to face that day.
The children enjoyed the games that the crew prepared and danced along with the Jollibee mascot. Afterward, everybody stood patiently in line for their turn to receive their meal and goods.PP Mags left them with a beautiful message saying “Mahal naming Taal, kasamaninyo kami sainyongpagbangon!”They profusely thanked and blessed us saying “nawa’ypagpalain kayo ng Diyos”.
Seeing that we still have a good amount of relief goods for at least 500 more evacuees, we hied off to Sto. Toribio Elementary School which the coordinators in IINHS recommended to us. Everybody in the second evacuation centers received as much.
We ended the day bone-weary and tired, but the beautiful sunset made me realize that distance is not an obstacle to helping, and with Rotary, service is limitless and knows no borders.
