“The only thing tragedy gives us is an opportunity to rebuild our lives.” –Paolo Cohelo

A few weeks ago, Typhoon Vinta hit several areas in Mindanao, leaving several homeless just before Christmas. One of the badly hit places was Cagayan de Oro City. A river runs through the whole stretch Cagayan de Oro, and because of the torrential rain and rough winds, this caused the river to rise beyond normal levels. The dikes newly built by the city could barely hold the volume of the water- one such dike was even destroyed because of the strong currents.

A day after, @adevaesparrago’s post went up which called for donations for those affected by the typhoon. There were 6 evacuation centers situated in the city, all of which hold families affected by the sudden flooding.

The Macasandig Evacuation Center.

Thanks to the quick response of SteemPH-,Cagayan de Oro City Steemians with the help of the social outreach group Kuya Fish Campaign, provided a grand Noche Buena (Christmas Dinner) and distributed over 200 toiletries and goodie bags to over 700 families in the Macasandig evacuation center.

Toiletries and treats!

Our volunteers prepping for the Noche Buena feast for the center!

Buckets and some cleaning materials were also distributed.

There were a number of very young children in the evacuation center. Diapers are also a need.

The group has talked to several of those affected, and they have shared their stories and their hopes for the future.

There was one man, in particular, who just got home from the overseas to spend Christmas with his family in Tibasak (one of the areas in Macasandig) only to have the area flooded. Stories like these, and more, ring through and reverberate in the centers. Each one with different experiences, but each one thankful.

The gifts that we have given might not seem much, given the colossal need of the people in the center, and in other centers, yet it feels wonderful to have made people’s Christmas even just a little bit better and brighter.

There are still several projects and programs targeted towards helping and rebuilding the lives of those affected by Typhoon Vinta. If you wish to help, please feel free to upvote and resteem this post. Proceeds will help fund said projects and programs. You may also donate to @steemph.

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Article by @adevaesparrago for @steemph