Typhoon Yolanda, A Year After

Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.

—Anonymous

Hotels are now lighting up their Christmas trees. I just love the sight of firefly lights and capiz stars like the ones on the Christmas tree at the lobby of Diamond Hotel, where, incidentally, the hotel’s Bayanihan Dance Troupe will be dancing from Dec. 16 to the 24th! Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay is lighting theirs this Saturday with a host of performers, too, for their 75th anniversary, while EDSA Shangri-La will have stilt-walkers and a string quartet this week for their ceremonies. My own home in Tagaytay already has a tree and a Christmas village lovingly crafted by lawyerbusinessman Jovi Rivera with his wife Tess, daughter Zep, son Rayon, and granddaughter Sam. Tess had just finished a chemo session the day before but this feisty, glamorous cancer patient helped out anyway.

Christmas is really the season of love!

***** Despite improvements in the living conditions of communities in Haiyan/Yolanda-hit areas, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stressed the need to ensure the sanitation and general health of people in the area. In its report, “One Year After Haiyan,” UNICEF admitted that coordinating the massive response to the survivors “remains challenging.” The typhoon, the strongest to hit the country, has affected 14.1 million Filipinos, about 5.9 million of them children. A total of 1.7 million children were displaced. The agency is now working with the Philippine government and other partners to ensure funds are put to its best use.

Lotta Sylwander, UNICEF Philippines representative said that one area that should remain priority is the health of Filipinos living in shelters and bunk houses in affected areas. She revealed that more than a million children from the affected communities in the Visayas had been vaccinated against measles and 7,000 cases of moderate to severe diarrhea had been treated. She also reported that 150 of the 179 local government units received cold chain materials, including solar powered refrigerators and cold boxes to restore and strengthen the routine immunization programme. UNICEF also led the counseling of about 70,000 caregivers of children, under two years old.

For the past year, UNICEF provided more than a million people access to safe water through water kits, water treatment products, bladders, and home storage containers; gave more than 300,000 people access to toilets; and delivered hygiene kits to more than 500,000 children. At present, 56 barangays have been certified “open defecation free.” One of the main challenges faced by the agency in its humanitarian campaign is “maintaining high levels of engagement with beneficiaries to ensure that response is meeting the needs.”

***** On the lighter side, ongoing until Nov. 29, is the big holiday sale at LRI Design Plaza, our favorite little mall at Nicanor Garcia Street in Bel-Air 1, where you will find globally-competitive, designer furniture, furnishings, accessories, paintings, and artworks. Tony Lo, owner of the LRI, is himself a furniture maker, specializing in high quality rattan items for the house and office. Showrooms, art galleries, concept stores, and home interiors shops will be participating in the sale, offering up to 50 percent off on selected items. Mandy Navasero’s FotosliK is offering family pictures at 50 percent discount. For appointments, call 02 896 32 08.