By Maritoni L. Saberon | Project Leader
A blanket of stars covered the sky that fateful night that Charnell, 24, never thought that a catastrophe would put her faith to the test more than four years ago. It was the next morning that heavy rain started to pour non-stop and the water rose to a level that caused her to panic. She could not swim. “Nilagay ko yung baby sa garbage bag tapos nilagyan naming siya ng jacket. Tapos sinabi ko sa husband ko na hindi ako marunong lumangoy, ayokong bumaba. Sabi ko na bahala na siya sa baby namin pero sabi niya na kailangan kong sumama sa kanya. Pagtalon ko, nakainom na ako ng maraming tubig. Hindi ko na alam kung mabubuhay pa ako. (I put the baby in a garbage bag and wrapped her with a jacket. I told my husband that I could not swim. I urged him to just leave and take care of our baby, but he refused. He told me that I should go with him. When I jumped, I drank much of the murky water. I did not know anymore if I would ever live.),” she said. She prayed endlessly while braving the greatest storm in Philippine history.
They waded their way to a store which was locked. She panicked again as the water was rising around them. Her husband broke the lock open, the shards of glass cut through his feet causing them to bleed profusely. She urged him not to go back to their house but he was persistent, he wanted to save their whole family. When he left them, she was so frightened because she could see dead bodies already floating anywhere. She was thankful that all of them in the family were alive.
After Haiyan, the place was a ghost town. Dead bodies, ruins, and garbage were all around. The family decided to go to Manila. They only had twenty pesos (less than a US dollar) which they used to buy an order of rice and soup that they all shared among themselves
When they reached Manila, they were treated in a hospital. Her husband had an ear infection aside from the wounds on his feet. “My neck also bled and I coughed with blood because of infection. We were treated for free. Then, they gave us clothes and food which helped us survive the ordeal”, Charnall said.
They went back to their province after a month and rebuilt everything that they had lost to Typoon Haiyan. Help from other people made it possible for them to live a new life. Her husband worked harder than ever in a market to provide for his family.
Four years after, Charnell graduated from college. Though she wanted to work to help financially, they chose to let her take care of their daughter, Belle. With a lesser family income, the day care center that the Children’s Joy Foundation, Inc. and Global Giving built in their village was a big help for laying the educational foundation of their child. Now, she had just completed the day care program with First Honors making her parents very proud.
“Sana maabot ng anak ko yung wish niya na maging doctor. Palagi niyang sinasabi na gusto niyang bumili ng malaking bahay na may swimming pool. Kung ano ang wish niya, yun na rin ang wish naming para sa kanya.(We wish that our daughter can achieve her wish of becoming a doctor someday. She always tells me that she wants to buy a big house with a swimming pool. Whatever her wish is, that is also our wish for her.”
Charnell thanks all GlobalGivers for selflessly sharing their blessings at the time when she almost gave up on life. “Salamat po sa pagpapatayo ng day care center dito po sa Barangay 74. Malaking tulong po talaga sa amin ang center pati na po ang mga supplies na binibigay niyo po sa mga bata. Komportable po sila at motivated po na mag-aral nang mabuti. (Thank you for building the day care center here in Barangay 74. It’s a big help for us including the supplies that you gave to our children. They were comfortable and motivated to study well.”
She learned that life is worth fighting for, that she should not easily give up when things get scary. When the storms of life would threaten to take away all that she lives for, she would always remember that moment when she jumped into the water even if she could not swim. When she puts her trust in her Creator, everything will be all right.
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