Voices for Visayas gifts 56 new homes to Yolanda survivors
By: Kara Medina
It has been almost three years since Typhoon Yolanda devastated Philippine shores and left more than 6,000 dead in its wake. It was a tragedy of epic scale and proportion, such that it inspired an unprecedented massive outpouring of care and generosity from all over the world – and it is this universal selflessness that Manny, Miguel, and Nanette harnessed to assemble Voices for Visayas.
Voices for Visayas began with a phone call. Merely a day after Yolanda struck, Filipina soprano Rachel Gerodias reached out to special events company Themeworks president Miguel Miñana, asking if he was organizing any fundraising event in response to the disaster. Miguel, in turn, called his brother Architect Emmanuel “Manny” Miñana.
“I suggested for him to continue inviting artists to perform in a one-night benefit concert,” Manny shares; “and I would organize a group of civic-minded friends to help raise sponsorships and donations in support of this benefit concert, which we eventually named Voices for Visayas.” These kind friends – Nanette Medved-Po, Doris Magsaysay-Ho, Ollie Campos, Tina Colayco, Manny’s wife Denise Weldon-Miñana, Joy Lagdameo, David Guerrero and Francine Kahn-Gonzalez, to name a few – eagerly expressed their interest in the endeavor.
As such, Voices for Visayas quickly snowballed into a grand benefit concert that featured more than 100 of the country’s best artists and the large production team sharing their talents for free. It was held on January 15, 2014 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila, and was able to raise a substantial 18 million pesos for the house-building efforts of Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity through the Philippine Disaster Recovery Fund (PDRF).
Two years later, Nanette, Manny, Miguel and Denise fly to Negros Occidental to turn over the keys of the Voices for Visayas village to its 56 families, now homeowners. The turnover was held August 20, 2016 at Barangay Daga, with Kuya Binsoi Rivera (GK Area Coordinator of Western Visayas), Tito Bob Magalona (GK Head of Negros Occidental), and Capt. Helen dela Cruz (Barangay captain of Brgy. Daga).
During the ceremony, Sir Manny and Tito Bob shared about the journey of VFV and its new residents – one fraught with the struggles brought about by Yolanda, but one that now ends in hope and optimism. The process of rebuilding was not easy nor immediate, but on this bright Saturday morning it proved itself worth the many hardships. The community gathered to celebrate the momentous occasion with a hearty lunch, and everyone shared in the exhilaration of seeing collective efforts finally bear fruit.
Perhaps the wounds Yolanda inflicted may never fully heal, but time passed – and with the hope that Voices for Visayas brought, 56 families’ houses and lives were rebuilt. Truly, nothing is impossible when we decide to leave no one behind.
Voices for Visayas Previous Features:
Nanette Medved-Po, VFV co-organizer, shares a heartwarming moment with a village resident.
Architect Manny Miñana offers inspiring words to the 56 new homeowners of VFV Village in Barangay Daga.
VFV Village residents hold hands and raise their voices to celebrate the momentous occasion of their turnover.
Voices for Visayas organizers with Bob Magalona, GK Head of Bacolod.
Smiles and laughter abound as the community does away with the last vestiges of Yolanda.
Binsoi Rivera, West Visayas AC, captures a moment with Nanette, Manny, Denise, and Miguel.
Mr Miguel Miñana, Themeworks President and Voices for Visayas co-organizer, sits with Barangay Daga Captain Helen dela Cruz at the VFV Village Turnover ceremony.
Bob Magalona, GK Head of Negros Occidental, welcomes the VFV organizers to the newly-completed village they built.
An adorable child enjoys the sumptous boodle lunch prepared by the residents and shared with the community.
A father gazes fondly at his son, excited about the life they have begun to rebuild with the help of Voices for Visayas.