An emergency fund was immediately begun and funds have already been transferred. You can read updated reports and see pictures of the progress, below. Due to the rural nature of the area, only email and text messages work, and service is sporadic, so sometimes a report will get partway through, then stop till service is resumed, later.
The following are email reports back.
Hi Ma'am Henny,
Wow..... I did not expect that. I mean, people come in and say they will help. Check the house, take pictures, ask what we need, take pictures of the family and on and on. Then we wait and still, until now we are still waiting for those promises. I never expect you will response immediately. When I wrote to you the other day, it's like going to the lotto outlet and bet. Then wait if I will win or I'll lose. I'm sorry if I felt that way Ma'am. Thank you so much. As I said before, anything that will help us is ok. Praise GOD for the help you and your donors are going to give.
Thank you again Ma'am Henny and everyone. GOD bless you all.
with thanks,
Noemi
Henny to Noemi:
Hi Noemi,
I am sort of curious how these families are feeding themselves right now and why they would want to be payed to help their own sisters and brothers, when we as total strangers are helping without even being family and we are just giving money. However, I do see the sense that if they are not doing their usual jobs while building the houses, that they must have an income to feed their families.
What it really comes down to, if you "pay" the workers, then there is less money for "stuff", but the the workers will have more money that they can buy their own stuff with. So really it comes to the same thing, if we pay the workers there will be less items bought with our money, but the workers will have income and can buy their own items with the money they earned. Perhaps that is a more fair way, in case one relative works harder than another.
In our country and world wide they have an organization called Habitat for Humanity. Their houses are built completely by volunteers and if you receive one of those houses, you are contracted to work at building 3 or 4 more, without wages. Basically you pay back by working. Most of those volunteers are also not trained, but it is a very good training lesson and it goes good on a resume for work, saying you built houses for Habitat for Humanity.
That said, I have no idea how your world works, and if they need to be paid to eat, so be it. I would prefer you just feed your workers...........Henny Logic. If they work, they eat. If the women work or help feed the men, they can eat too. That way more money stays in the fund for the very "stuff" you need to make the houses stronger and safer for the next typhoon. But my logic comes from Canada and we don't live in your culture. I cannot guide you on this.
I will go to the Post Office today and forward some money and get back to you. I am not sure if there is a limit to how much I can send in one day, so I will do my best for now. I will get back to you with the pass code so you can collect it.
Please remember to take lots of pictures and tell us stories, because we all find that very interesting. It is all so different for us, so it is a bit like an adventure for us to see how it will happen.
Till next letter.
From Noemi:
This is me getting the money: This is the money oh yea!
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This is Salvie buying the stuff for her house:
This are the stuff. GI, amakan, nails and vulcaseal.
Haven't take the photo of the receipt. But I will later
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xThis is her place, Salvie got a help from Unicef. It's a program who helps pregnant and lactating mothers. A relief operation after typhoon Haiyan. She got money so she and Ciela (partner)start a shelter. She is praying that Unicef will continue to help. So far, they say they will still give for two more. So this is what they have started with the money she got. Money that you sent will help her roof and some of the walls. My goal is the money you sent will help two families. And that is Salvie and Dennis.
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xThis GI (galvanized iron) will help the tarp roof replacement, And this amakan will be for walls.
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Dennis (brother)This is Cielo. He is digging so the dirt will fill the floor to make it higher a little bit
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Here they are starting to fix the roof oh yes!!! (Joshua, Romy Lue, Dennis, Cielo)
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http://youtu.be/ENCX6v2WLZs (noemi describes house plans)
Amakan - YouTube
► 5:08► 5:08www.youtube.com/watch?v=fryf3JunJD8
Dec 30, 2012 - Uploaded by Fred Umabong
The making of a bamboo strip into an Amakan used by poor Filipinos on the nipa hut.
More pics. There goes the last pics of GI for the first half of the roof.
Food for lunch,hmm. Pork bones for soup.
Here is Salvie cooking for their lunch. Sorry, they forgot to take pics when they ate. I was taking a bath when they had their lunch. I saw flies following because I stink maybe LOL LOL.That is Dennis's dirty kitchen, as they call it haha. Maybe it is called like that becaue it is made of dirt? LOL. Just kidding.
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More pics. They start to fix the wall. That is after lunch. They start the wall first before finishing the half of the roof. It was really really hot.
More walls fixed. Oh yes
Merienda time. We forgot to take pics of snack in the morning. This is in the afternoon. Merienda means snack. They are having juice and a hot cake as we call it. It's like a pan cake as you call it in your country. But it is really far from your pan cake. I like yours but can't afford it ha ha.
Here is Salvie and Cielo. Big smiles. more to fix. The door and the roof.
Fixing for the door for front.
And that is how it look heh heh
please know that, if I am not able to send pics, that means, signal does not permit. it is often no signal here. So, when there is that is how I sends my pics. Thank you guys for making as feel happy and special. God bless to all.
Noemi
(Please note, Noemi says Salvie has birthing pains today and might go into labour today, please put her in your best thoughts everyone!!!)
Today the guys are fixing Dennis's house. Like Salvie, his wife Ronalyn is able to get a help from Unicef. So they have started a small house too.
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Yesterday, they hired chainsaw dudes to cut trees and so they can have coco lumbers. It's cheaper that way than to buy the cut lumber already.
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Dennis has ordered sand , cement, nails and amakan. Some stuff has not been delivered yet. This is the sand and lumbers and nails.
So far that is what I have for you. Next, I will send the budget run down for you. Praying signal will stay good as it is now ha,ha.
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Them eating lunch.
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Updated June 24/14
Lunch:
Making cement floor:
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xMore updates as they come in.