small help for better beginning!!

Dear good people,

My name is Maria and I am from the Philippines. I live now already for several years in the Netherlands, I work here and with the money I earn I’ll try to support my family.

Due to the recent typhoon my family is struggling to get back to their daily style.  
My family lives in Panatao, Claver. It is located where the red pin is dropped. This is a village in the South of the Philippines on the Island Mindanao. It is a peaceful community directly located at the Philippine Sea. Most men are fisherman and that’s what drives the local economy.  

The pandemic already made it harder for them, sometimes barangays (a village) was closed down, which makes it hard for the fisherman to sell their catch on the fishmarket and therefore provide for their family.  

Now they are hit by typhoon Auring and this typhoon was strong. Very strong. It flooded villages, destroyed houses, the infrastructure was heavenly damaged and it killed people.  

Of course it’s my duty to help my family. They helped me getting me where I am now and now it’s my turn to do my part. So, I send them money. However, it is not enough to help them get back on their feet. Due to the lack of income during the pandemic they were not able to do the necessary maintenance of their houses to make them better protected against the typhoon. 

As you can see in the picture, the damage was quite huge.  In a neighboring village, close to the river, the river raised so much that complete houses were washed away.  

In the collage you’ll see the house of my family together with their fishing boat. It’s a wooden house, since the regulations of the government forbid you to build a house close to the ocean from concrete. That should not be a problem as long as you have the possibility to build a strong house and maintain it well.     

As you can see, they “fixed” the roof with some panels, nipa and plastic. Of course this supposed to be a temporary fix, until there is money enough to make the structure stronger and provide it with a new roof.

But that isn’t happening, since I can’t cover enough to provide for all of this. That’s why I shout out to you… Hoping that you can help me give my family the roof and shelter they need. And maybe not only my family, but also the neighbors. Would it not be great to help a community back on their feet?

I hope you are willing to donate and help these people in a time which is already so hard due to this pandemic.

Thank you for your generosity and God bless you.

Maria