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TYPHOON RAI (ODETTE) / A FISHING VILLAGE ON THE EDGE After The Storm

πŸ“… 2021-12-31⏱ 15:47
πŸ“… 2021-12-31 Β |Β  ⏱️ 15:47 Β |Β  πŸ‘οΈ 35.9K views Β |Β  πŸ‘ 4K likes Β |Β  πŸ’¬ 968 comments

Pea travels to the isolated coastal community of Tankulogan in Bais City to deliver typhoon relief to a fishing village that was hit hard by Typhoon Rai (Odette) but was being largely bypassed by aid distribution. She brings over half a ton of rice plus canned goods, water, and other supplies for 100 families, then walks into the devastated village on foot to document the conditions β€” ultimately discovering an elderly couple living in near-total destitution under a tarp, setting up the rebuilding mission she completes in a later video.

Getting to the village and organizing the distribution ​

  • The community of Tankulogan sits right against the sea, so it took a direct hit from the typhoon
  • Residents rely on fishing as their livelihood, using small wooden boats
  • The village homes aren't accessible by car, so Pea sets up a distribution point at the end of the road; villagers will carry supplies over a kilometer back across a footbridge
  • A local coordinator (kuya) helps organize β€” names are called one by one from a list to keep things orderly

The striking difference in how this village receives aid ​

  • Out on the main roads, Pea had seen hungry citizens swarming vehicles in "a chaotic, frenzy" β€” but here, villagers wait calmly in an orderly line
  • Instead of panic, Pea is greeted with thank-yous and Merry Christmases
  • She has no explanation for the difference but is clearly moved by it

The scale of need vs. available aid ​

  • Pea brought over half a ton of rice plus canned goods, water, and other necessities for 100+ families
  • The only aid the village had received from the government so far was 10 kilos of rice total β€” prompting Pea to wish she'd brought more
  • With devastation so widespread, the government is overwhelmed, making private citizen relief efforts critical
  • She was glad to have found a community where "hardly any aid was getting through"

Walking into the village: total devastation ​

  • Every piece of building material and supplies had to be hand-carried across a small footbridge
  • Fish ponds stocked with milkfish for sale at local markets had been emptied by the storm's force β€” restocking will take months if money can even be raised
  • Almost no structure was left undamaged; Pea says it felt like "standing in a pile of rubble"
  • A small church had its roof torn off with only fragments of walls remaining
  • Residents patched roof holes with anything available β€” if they were lucky enough to still have a roof
  • No electricity, no water, no communications β€” and given the village's remoteness, restoration won't come anytime soon

Meeting Nanay Catalina and Tatay Cerelino β€” the elderly couple ​

  • An elderly woman Pea meets on the road invites her to tour her home, apologizing she has no food to offer except what Pea just gave her
  • Nanay is in her 80s and has to walk a mile to the distribution point, then climb down a rock wall and slog through mud under a neighbor's house just to reach her "home"
  • The "home" is essentially a tarp strung up in a tree β€” no walls, no door, no roof, no bed
  • Three people live there: Nanay, her husband Tatay Cerelino (81 years old), and their grandchild
  • Pea's reaction: "Shouldn't a home have a wall? A door? A roof? Maybe even a bed?"
  • Their most urgent need is rebuilding their shelter β€” when it rains, they get completely soaked
  • Tatay is still an active fisherman at 81, selling his catch to buy rice and canned goods β€” but the typhoon destroyed his fishing boat, leaving him with no way to earn income or feed his wife
  • They're now entirely dependent on outside help for food

Lack of social safety net for elderly Filipinos ​

  • Pea notes there are no retirement plans or pensions for most senior citizens β€” "they're just still working"
  • Aid from both government and private sector isn't reaching this area; the couple received only a kilo or two after the typhoon
  • Pea is visibly upset: "What kind of life is this? She and her elderly husband are basically living under a tarp in a tree with no food... this just isn't right"

Pea promises to return ​

  • She tells Nanay Catalina she'll come back and try to do something about both the shelter and the fishing boat
  • This sets up the follow-up video where she rebuilds their house and provides money for a new boat

Final distribution tally ​

  • 100 families received rice, water, and supply packs
  • The barangay residents were well-behaved, cooperative, and queued up in orderly fashion
  • Pea thanks viewers and the local coordinator who helped organize the distribution

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