The Story of Edegario

 

Edegario (12) shows me where his family’s house used to stand: The leftovers of two wooden poles are all that remains from their home. Now they are living in their Uncle’s house next door, whose house survived heavily damaged. The family mended it as good as they could with material they could get hold of – tarpaulin, panel sheets, leftovers from the debris.

Edegario lives in a neighbourhood heavily affected by typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. Three months after the typhoon, the neighbourhood still shows scenes of massive devastation. At least most of the debris is cleared by now. A machine is clearing rubble where Edegario shows us the debris was meters high after the typhoon. “There were a lot of trees around here”, he says, where today you only see a handful trees standing and many uprooted or snapped.

Edegario is going to Grade 6 at Manlurip Primary School in Tacloban. His favourite subjects are English, Maths and Social Studies. “Our school was beautiful before. There were a lot of flowers and grass everywhere. We used to play here until late after school – Volleyball or Tumbang Preso.” Tumbang Preso is a traditional Filipino children’s game where you throw your sandals trying to hit a can. Now he and the other students are going home early before it gets dark, as there is still no electricity in the whole area.

He points to his former classroom: “Now we have no roof, the classroom is all washed out. Yolanda really destroyed our school.” His class is being taught in a UNICEF tent and received UNICEF learning supplies. Since the school reopened, there are classes Monday to Saturday to allow the children to catch up with the missed time. There is a big swamp lake behind the school buildings where there used to be grass. UNICEF tarpaulin on some of the roofs jitters in the wind.

As much as they are shocked by the loss of their belongings and their livelihood, the family is happy that they are still together. All five are still alive: Father Edegario Sr., mother Mila, and the three boys. After the typhoon hit and the storm surge completely flattened their house, the family fled to the airport where they lined up for three days and nights to find a space on a Korean military C130 plane to evacuate them from the disaster zone. “We haven’t eaten for three days”, he remembers. Even during the night they had to fall in line. “It was my first time on a plane”, tells Edegario. “It was so crowded. I felt dizzy.”

In Manila, they found shelter with Edegario’s Grandmother. When the community found out that they were typhoon survivors, they gave them food and drink and the priest cared for them. But his father and big brother struggled to find work and eventually decided to go back to Tacloban. “The DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) gave us 4,500 Pesos so we could return to Tacloban. But the bus was more expensive. Fortunately the bus company let my youngest son Edmond go for free,” tells his father Edegario Sr. “Now I want to rebuild the house but I don’t even have money to buy some wood.” Even his Pedicab, a typical Filipino bicycle taxi and source of modest and hard-earned income, is destroyed. His only source of income at the moment is a small rice field that he cultivates.

Until today, the family relies on relief goods. “Since Yolanda, I haven’t eaten meat or pork”, tells Edegario. “Only canned goods and some vegetables that my mother bought on the market.” At least a student-feeding programme started just this week. “Today we had porridge and egg.” 

Even three months down from that 8 November that has changed their life forever, his family is struggling to get their feet back on the ground. At least he can now go back to school together with his little brother Edmond (9) who goes to Grade 3. His big brother Joel (21) is a teacher and started his job again just a few days ago. But among all the struggles he and his family are facing, there is one big wish that Edegario tells us: “I wish we will now be safe all the time.”

 

Edegario in his destroyed classroom

 

Edegario showing us the temporary classroom tent

 

 

 

"This was all grassland", tells me Edegario. "So is that where you played with your friends?" I ask. "No! Because there were all the snakes!"

 

 

Edegario and his family showing me where their house used to stand. The wooden pole you can see next to them is all that remains from their home.

 

 

 

Edegario and his family: Brother Edmond (9), mother Mila and father Edegario Sr., in front of their Uncle's house where they are staying now and which they were able to provisonally fix.