JCCI Reaches Out to Taal Volcano Victims by Anna Balmes
Last January 12, 2020, the island where one the most active volcanoes in the Philippines stood was completely covered in gray ash, devastating the homes of thousands of our kababayans, and killing hundreds of animals in the blink of an eye.
In the following days and weeks, many of our kababayans eventually returned to their homes, except for those who lived in Pulo, an island in Talisay, Batangas. The situation of the residents there is heartbreaking. The government has temporarily sheltered them in a dusty, filthy and unpaved construction site in Barangay Tumaway, since Pulo is still in lockdown. Our company, John Clements Consultants, took the initiative to check out the evacuation center there and cook breakfast for the evacuees — in a way that you can’t imagine, because the area was surrounded by dust and cement — with the full effort of our team; we were able to cook breakfast and feed almost 1,000 people.
To give the victims much-needed hope, from whom everything has been taken, our team conducted a “Skills Assessment”, which consisted of assessing the skills and work experience of almost 100 evacuees. I found out that most of them used to work as horse guides, tour guides, factory workers and operators, but they were willing to be trained and consider any kind of job, preferably in Batangas, because no one will take care of their children. Most of my interviewees were women.
Before we left the evacuation site, six elderly female evacuees approached me to ask, “Nag-iinterview ba kayo para sa trabaho? Meron ba kayong mao-offer sa amin na pangkabuhayan? Dati kasi sa isla, nagluluto kami sa mga karenderya na kinakainan ng mga turista at yung iba sa amin gumagawa ng mga souvenir na binebenta din sa mga turista. Matatanda na din kami para magtrabaho sa Manila.” (Are you conducting job interviews? Can you offer us a livelihood? On the island, we used to cook in canteens for tourists and some of us made souvenirs that we also sold to tourists. We are too old to work in Manila.)
At first, I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t know what to say, but I composed myself and replied that I would recommend their suggestions to HR and management, and that we would think of initiatives or activities that could support their pangkabuhayan.
My key takeaway from this experience is to always put yourself in other people’s shoes, so we will able to understand others and empathize with them. What they experienced from the tragedy will surely give us all kinds of revelations. From this, we can think of how we can extend our help to them — not only by giving them enough food, but also gradually helping them move on with their lives by giving them a productive job or at least some form of livelihood. I am so happy and proud to be their voice and extend my hand to help them. I am looking forward to another chance to be able to bring joy and comfort to others, especially in times of need.
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About the author:
Anna Marie Balmes is an AB/BA Psychology graduate of Colegio De San Gabriel Arcangel in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.
