LESSONS FROM A TRAGIC MEMORY

note: well, this should be posted last september, but unfortunately, i wasn't able to do so,.. this may not be timely but i think, it still is worthy to be posted, hehe... continue reading.=)

The rain continued to fall for several hours… It was an abrupt moment. And the people didn’t anticipate that floodwaters will reach that high. It was a dreadful nightmare to thousands of them. And most, to those who have lost their loved ones in just a wink of an eye.

The wrath of typhoon Ondoy probably is one of the worst things our country has ever experienced. We encountered lots of calamities already. But Ondoy was a different test, knowing that hundreds of lives were lost, and billions of properties, crops and infrastructures were damaged. Until now, many are still trying to rebuild their lives. In the southern part, particularly those people living near Laguna Lake, many homes are still submerged in floodwaters.

It is so saddening to see our fellow Filipinos, especially children, who are staying in evacuation centers. Schools have served as their temporary shelter. And most of them, who were severely affected, rely only in relief goods that will be provided by kindhearted people.

Many children get sick. Many are starving. Many are still mourning due to sudden death of their beloved or because of still-missing family members. This could be difficult. Restoring what was lost would take much time. Same as those homes in flooded areas, it will take months before the waters will run dry.

But, in these trying times, we learned a lot. Our faith was tested, and our heroism was showed as well. Indeed, we still have unfathomable love for our fellows. See, there are lots of organizations-government, non-government, private individuals- everybody demonstrated their love and concern either through prayers, donations or volunteering in relief and rescue operations.

The aftermath of the typhoon may have a prolonged effect. Nevertheless, if we think intently the value of that experience, we will fully accept why God let that to happen. It is not a punishment. It is a lesson instead. A knock on our hearts.

As they say, we survived to tell our own stories…