{"id":1306,"date":"2013-12-16T15:10:36","date_gmt":"2013-12-16T07:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/balaymindanaw.org\/main\/?p=1306"},"modified":"2013-12-16T15:13:59","modified_gmt":"2013-12-16T07:13:59","slug":"ban-ao-rises-again-bids-farewell-to-bmg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balaymindanaw.org\/main\/2013\/12\/16\/ban-ao-rises-again-bids-farewell-to-bmg\/","title":{"rendered":"Ban-ao rises again, bids farewell to BMG"},"content":{"rendered":"
By BONG D. FABE<\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
\"Ching\"<\/a><\/div>\n
Ban-ao Barangay Captain Mera Ching gives out a tearful farewell for Balay Mindanaw on the anniversary of typhoon Pablo, in which the resiliency of barangay was celebrated.<\/em><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
BAN-AO, Baganga, Davao Oriental\u2014<\/b>\u201cYour help was so great. You helped us stand again. You taught us how to be resilient and to be a resource. We in Ban-ao will never forget you. I know it is not easy for you to travel so far away, but you did and that showed your help comes from the heart. For me personally, I will never forget your help until the end of my life because during those times when I felt so alone, you were my inspiration. That is why I can say that \u2018you made me live again\u2019.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Her last words prompted an impromptu humming of those who know Janet Basco\u2019s immortal love song, as Barangay Chairperson Mera A. Ching paused for a bit to wipe the tears smearing her face during the simple handover ceremony here on the first anniversary of typhoon Pablo (Bopha) on December 4.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An emotional Ching gallantly stemmed the flood of tears from taking over the gathering, reminiscent of the time a year ago when she \u2014 abandoned by most of her leaders but propped up by BMG volunteers \u2014 led the reconstruction and rehabilitation of her devastated village.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The celebration, aptly titled\u00a0\u201cAtong Kaugmaon: A Handover of Community Projects and Celebration of the Resiliency of Barangay Ban-ao, Davao Oriental\u201d<\/i>\u00a0was BMG\u2019s way of saying its final farewell to the villagers whom it accompanied for a year of journey towards normalcy after Pablo.<\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>\u201cYour journeying with us for one year will never be forgotten. You inspired and encouraged me to go on. But like a parent, you know that we can now stand on our own,\u201d Ching said.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Handover1\"<\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Moving on:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Ban-ao Elementary School Principal Venus Buhat said that the barangay has recovered from the tragedy \u201cdue to the help of Balay Mindanaw.\u201d \u201cIf Balay Mindanaw did not help Ban-ao, it will be very hard for the villagers to stand again,\u201d she said.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Ban-ao, one of Baganga\u2019s 18 villages, is the hardest-hit barangay in the whole municipality with 17 dead and more than 90 percent of its 520 families homeless with literally no source of income in sight as Pablo also leveled 99 percent of all coconuts. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The village\u2019s vast mangrove area, which the DENR was eyeing as an eco-tourism park, was also decimated. But thanks to the resiliency of the mangroves, new growths are seen sprouting to one day realize the DENR and Ban-aowon\u2019s dream. The devastation was so complete that villagers thought they were the only survivors left. This reality prompted 9-year-old Em-Em to mischievously called survivors \u201cleftovers of the typhoon\u201d \u2014 a label that aptly described Ban-aowons.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Realizing the enormity of the devastation and the lack of help, BMG adopted this barangay after a quick assessment led by BMG chief Charlito \u201cKaloy\u201d Manlupig and Ariel \u201cAyi\u201d Hernandez, executive director of the Katilingbanong Pamahandi sa Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. (KPMFI), the enterprise development arm of the BMG through the promptings of Lt. Col. Krishnamurti Mortela, battalion commander of the 67th<\/sup>\u00a0\u201cAgila\u201d Battalion of the Philippine Army based in Baganga.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When BMG\u2019s first official aid and volunteers arrived here on Dec. 8, 2012, \u201cFour Strong Winds\u201d blared on the car stereo as volunteers and village folks cleared the debris scattered all over the place. Now, a year later, the lyrics of Neil Young\u2019s famous anthem played as a tribute to the village folks who have since found their bearings and are \u201cmoving on.\u201d<\/b><\/div>\n
\u201cWe lost everything. Our houses, our livelihood and our friends; some even lost their relatives. Nothing is left here,\u201d Ching once said. They may have lost everything, but not their resiliency \u2014 their innate strength, talents and abilities to rise to the challenge of Pablo, which they handily won.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Kaloy<\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Barangay-based DR:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Prior to BMG\u2019s arrival, the residents organized themselves and salvaged still useful housing materials to repair what they can of their destroyed houses to shelter them from the constant rains and winds and the searing heat of the sun.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI often wondered what the overall feeling in this village before Pablo was. But now, the feeling of unity and oneness is so palpable in everyone that I can\u2019t just feel or sense it but also see it in the people, in the way they help each other cope with the disaster,\u201d said Ed Cox, expert disaster response and humanitarian volunteer of the Disaster Aid International (DAI). \u201cYes, you can see sadness in their eyes. But you can also see there the fire of hope burning. And it is our job, our work, our responsibility to make sure that this fire of hope in them is not extinguished. It is our job to convert this hope into positive action for them to be able to help themselves. That\u2019s the meaning of assistance,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thanks in part to BMG \u2014 its partner institutions like the DAI, Johanniter International Assistance, German Cooperation Deutsche Zusammenarbeit, and most especially to the thousands of volunteers who were mobilized by the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro and the VOICE Network, including the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, Philippine Nurses Association, Xavier University and the Sendong survivors of Barangay Indahag \u2014 this hope propelled Ban-aowons to rebuild a devastated community and lives, even if it means literally picking the pieces and putting them back together. It was also this hope that led Ban-aowons, led by Ching and helped by BMG, to buy a four-hectare lot in the village as their new barangay site (barangay hall, etc.) and relocation site of 100 families.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Model DR:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As the world focused and pour resources on Compostela Valley, another Pablo-devastated province, BMG poured out its heart on this small village where the super typhoon made landfall. While the world\u2019s disaster and humanitarian organizations poured relief goods on the survivors of other towns and villages, BMG journeyed with the Ban-aowons using its time- and experience-proven approach in all its work.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cInstead of treating the survivors as mere recipients of aid, they are considered as they key stakeholders in the difficult task of community re-building. Our intervention [covered] the whole range of community needs: from organizing to provision of basic needs of food, water, medicines, etc.\u201d Manlupig said. This is the same approach now being employed by BMG in its disaster response and humanitarian work in the earthquake-ruined Bohol and Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)-devastated Ormoc and Panay.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe main idea is to focus our resources on one barangay at a time instead of spreading them all to the 42 barangays of the three hardest-hit municipalities at the same time. After all, barangay-based and barangay-focused development, disaster response and peacebuilding work is one of our key strengths,\u201d Manlupig added.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sylvia \u201cIbing\u201d Okinlay-Paraguya, vice chairperson of the Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. (BMFI), said that \u201cbarangay-based rehabilitation [has] once again [been] proven to be a viable approach.\u201d Paraguya, executive director of the Coop-NATCCO, explained that BMG\u2019s approach is very effective because \u201cdata comes from the community; needs are identified by them. And community-based assessment has helped them process their own fears of what they went through.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/i>This \u201clocal stakeholder\u201d approach ensured that everyone in the devastated village get a fair share of the resources as well as gave them ownership of their own sustainable future. It was this approach that made Ban-ao a model of an effective disaster response work. This was the raison d-etre of BMG\u2019s\u00a0Disaster Risk Reduction, Resiliency and Emergency Assistance Mission (D<\/i>R<\/i>EAM<\/i>) program, which\u00a0\u201cfacilitated\u201d the \u201cconvergence of efforts\u201d of all key players resulting to the rising of the \u201cnew Ban-ao.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cDespite the unfavourable fate we had in the past year [2012], there is always a reason to celebrate a new life, a new beginning,\u201d said barangay chairperson Ching.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And for BMG, its journey with the people of Ban-ao is a great learning experience.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cBMG\u00a0learned a lot from its journey with the people of Ban-ao, and this has greatly helped us as we began our journey with the people of Bohol, Leyte and Panay,\u201d Manlupig said.\u00a0(Bong D. Fabe)<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By BONG D. FABE \u00a0 Ban-ao Barangay Captain Mera Ching gives out a tearful farewell for Balay Mindanaw on the anniversary of typhoon Pablo, in which the resiliency of barangay was celebrated.   BAN-AO, Baganga, Davao Oriental\u2014\u201cYour help was so great. You helped us stand again. You taught us how to be resilient and to… Read More »Ban-ao rises again, bids farewell to BMG<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[115,114,97,37,44,43],"series":[],"speaker":[],"class_list":["post-1306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bmfi","tag-baganga","tag-ban-ao","tag-disaster-response","tag-emergency-response","tag-pablo","tag-typhoon"],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/balaymindanaw.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/BM-Podcast-Logo.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"acast":{"key":"acast","url":"","label":"Acast","class":"acast","icon":"acast.png"},"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"anchor":{"key":"anchor","url":"","label":"Anchor","class":"anchor","icon":"anchor.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple 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Ban-ao rises again, bids farewell to BMG<\/a><\/blockquote>