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'Hope Stories of Haiyan'

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The Heart of a Volunteer
by Sarah Gabornes



One year after Haiyan, volunteers like Ria Quiminales show us that disasters can also bring out the best in people: inspiring the ordinary to rise up and become heroes for one another.



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“I know kun nakaya ko pagbulig han kasasagsagan han bagyo, makakaya ko gihap yana nga tima na. Maaram ako nga matika-makuri pa kay damo man nga tawo it kinahanglan buligan… Damo ngane it nagpapakiana haak: Maupay kuno ikaw Ria kay naiilob mo it pavolu-volunteer. Para ha akon la, since waray man karuba an am balay, mabulig ak hit mga tawo nga magtindog utro hit kanan ira.” (If I was able to help others during the height of Haiyan, what more today? With so many who are counting on us, the life of a volunteer isn’t easy, and people always ask me how I can last. For me, our home was spared from Haiyan, and now I need to help others rebuild theirs.)

 
Leave no man behind: that’s the undaunted belief of Ria C. Quiminales, a GK volunteer, even at the height of the Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Considered as one of Haiyan’s unsung heroes, Ria sacrificed herself for the people who were with her.

When the super typhoon came to a strike, her family – except for her father – evacuated to her cousin’s house. The mighty winds caused the walls of the house to crack and the ceiling to fall. Ria and her companions were left with no refuge and could only hope that they would still survive. As the ceiling of the house started to give up, a pregnant woman was about to be hit but because of Ria’s courage, she shielded the woman from danger; the woman was put to safety while our hero got struck at her back.

Looking for others was one of the hardest things she had to do especially since she was thinking of her father who was looking after their home. She drew her strength from her family since she was the eldest child who was with them. When the winds came to a halt, her father was reunited with them. Blessed as they are, the Quiminales home attained just a few scathes in the roof, as his father informed them.
 
Today, Ria volunteers for GK Lawaan as the Kapitbahayan secretary. Since God protected their home from total destruction, she feels ready to give back the blessings as she helps her fellow Law-ananons rebuild their lives and homes. Unmindful of the traumatic experience, she decided to stand up, start anew, and help others do the same. 



Volunteers and beneficiaries in a bayanihan line to complete building GK Lawaan



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'Hope Stories of Haiyan'

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Gawad Kalinga’s Haiyan Reconstruction Efforts would not be possible without the thousands of volunteers – young and old, rich and poor, popular and seemingly ordinary – who have stepped up to become heroes for our brothers and sisters in need.

Many villages across the Visayas (like GK Lawaan in Brgy. Poblacion 8, Lawaan, Leyte) are in the process of being built today because of the bayanihan of these volunteers, the typhoon survivors, the local government, and partners like Isla Lipana & Co. and VXI Global Holdings B.V.

But the work is far from over, and there are thousands more who need to be relocated to safe communities like this one. Find out how you can help #endpoverty today.


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