The Tent

Yesterday was Sunday, and I decided to take at least a couple of hours off to clear my mind a little bit. Together with a colleague, I flagged down a tricycle taxi and we took a ride to a village called Salvacion – only ten minutes away from the main road, but in a different world.

Our first thought was: Did actually any aid already reach this place? The makeshift shelters cobbled together, the three kiosks with the usual available goods: Nescafé, soft drinks, cigarettes, biscuits, chips, beer and tuba, a local winelike brew made from coconut trees.

Suddenly we heard some noise: The village men had organized cockfights that had just finished and the crowd dispersed into all directions. Over fallen trees we walked to a waterfall to take a shower. A handful of local kids entertained themselves by throwing a coin in the pond and then diving for it.

Back in the village, we spot the school up on a little hill that was completely demolished. A man waives at us and we decide to go up. He introduces himself as the school guard and tells us that his house is also destroyed, and that indeed not much aid has found its way to Salvacion. And then we see it: In the courtyard of the ruined school stands a blue-white UNICEF tent, in which they installed two provisional classrooms. In this very moment, we are simply proud to work for this organization.

 

(Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me that day, therefore I am posting a couple of other impressions from Tacloban)