How We Can Help: Disaster Response in 3D

September 4, 2016

I received feedback of some people asking why should we be donating for the bombing victims when President Duterte said all the medical expenses will be shouldered by government.

I understand your concern.

Ganito yan:

3D's of Disaster Response

Donate
Dedicate
Do It Now

I came up with this rule of thumb for dummies. There are trainings and templates on Disaster Response for experts but it seems like we ordinary citizens have yet to master the secret of surviving on our own, by and among ourselves. As it is right now, it seems like "to each his own".

* * * * *

When the news of the Davao blast came out, the first questions that whizzed in our minds were (and yes, in this order):

1) Was that really a bomb?
2) Were people killed?
3) Do I have family or friends there?
4) How can I help?
5) and many more

Answers:

1) Only the authorities can tell us what really exploded. Since we are not the authority, any effort we exert saying what it was is a total waste of time. Let’s leave it to them.

2) Yes. Among them Cotabatenos.

3) At least Facebook now has a feature on how to check if your FB friends are safe. If my memory serves me right, this was used during the earthquake in Haiti, then the Japan Tsunami and the Nepal Earthquake. Whatever concerns others have on whether Facebook is being used by some big power to monitor impacts of terrorism is beyond me. The relief I felt every time I got a notification that friends were ok was immeasurable. This goes without saying that family members are the first people we check before anything else.

4) The focus of this post is on HOW CAN I HELP

That is the first D in the 3Ds. Donate.

a) Money is the first thing that comes to mind. While money can do many things, it is not everything.
b) We can also donate blood.
c) And if money and blood are already out of the question, we can always donate Time. Volunteer. Run errands. Go online. The gift of self is priceless as it is endless.

(Take note that food and water were given by grateful citizens to the disaster responders).

Deskbound, the least I can do was share information through Facebook on anything that shed light on the situation. Looking for answers on who did it was a waste of time and emotion. Then there were calls for blood. I retweeted it. I can see that blood donations were pouring in. But not necessarily because of me. I was just one among hundreds who went online to help.

Then the question came: How can I help? We’re so far away.

I asked around. At that point – barely 12 hours after the blast – the advice on sending donations was to send directly to the family. Ok. Done.

Now back to where we were: Why would we be asking donations when government is shouldering all the expenses?

Well, to be honest – that the government under Duterte would be doing that never, ever crossed my mind at the height of the crisis. Until now.

Remember that generosity is -- I can’t find the best English equivalent: Bukal sa Loob. Roughly, innate. From within. From deep in the heart. And the soul. Natural na sa atin bilang isang tao ang magiging mapagbigay.

And to bring the point closer to home: Remember in the 80s and in the 90s when we had disasters? Natural, man-made – name it. Bakbakan, bakwit, baha, tagtuyot. Pag nanawagan sa radio kung ano ang pangangailangan, dumarating, umaapaw. The heartfelt generosity of Cotabatenos was overwhelming.

But there was a point in our history when this generosity faded. I have an answer but I would just like to ask if you have any idea…

Ok I hope that you took a few seconds to think through that.

The point where we lost that generosity was when foreign aid came. There may be other reasons but yes, this is one.

When before we donated rice wholeheartedly by the glass, now it came in trucks from big organizations. When before we organized ourselves to manage our own garbage, now it is replaced by some foreign-funded agency teaching us how to sweep our own backyards. The only thing probably that remains to be donated without being funded by foreign money is blood.

And before I make a longer list and you adding to it, let me just emphasize that no, I am not criticizing. I am describing. Whether we come out to be better people (collectively) or not with help from outside remains to be seen.

This motivation to give whatever little we can to victims of bomb blasts is an opportunity to be generous. We can only whisper a prayer that those generous individuals be blessed more abundantly.

I like to feel being Cotabateno again. As this new administration is genuinely generous, we also cannot let this opportunity to be generous to each other be taken away from us.

No matter where we are.

#WalangIwanan
#KeepTheFaith
#KeepThePeace

Here's the link to the original Facebook post:

https://www.facebook.com/aveen.acunagulo/posts/10154043053442991