NEWS > Rose Carillo
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Rose Carillo
cbm donors respond to need in SE AsiaIn October, our region was hit by a number of catostrophic events that effected millions of people across SouthEast Asia. cbm put out an emergency appeal to help the people effected by earthquakes, tsunamis and floods in Indonesia and the Philippines - and the New Zealand public responded.
Worldwide contributions to cbm's international appeal reached $1 million USD, of which cbm New Zealand was a contributing country. Here is Rose Carillo's story from Typhoon Ketsana.
Saturday, September 26th started out like any other day for Rose Carillo. The mother of two was doing laundry when the rains from Typhoon Ketsana started. Little did she know that within hours the family’s belongings would be washed away, and they would be stranded with just the clothes on their backs.
As the heavy rains began to fall, Rose took no notice and continued working around the house, after all it was typhoon season in the Philippines and heavy rains are the norm. By mid-morning the rain had turned her front path into a stream, but again, she didn’t worry. However, by 11 o’clock the water began seeping under the front door. It was then Rose realized something was wrong.
An hour later, the worst flooding in Manila in more than 40 years had engulfed the entire first floor of Rose’s home, and the family of four was forced to huddle in a room on the second floor as the water continued to rise.
“There was no way to escape,” said Rose. “I was just thinking about my two boys and their safety. I was ready to die for them if I had too.”
When it was clear the water wouldn’t let up, Rose’s husband cut a hole in the roof so the family could escape to higher ground. But the rising tide still didn’t ease, and Rose and her family were forced to climb from roof top to roof top until they reached the relative safety of a neighbour’s roof. This was no easy task for Rose, who is blind in one eye, and was assisting her boys, aged two and nine.
Together, with many of their neighbours, Rose’s family huddled on their neighbour’s roof in the pouring rain for 11 hours. At 1 am the rain stopped and the water receded enough that they could take refuge in the attic of the house. By 5 am Rose and her family were able to return home, or at least to what was left of it.
“Everything was ruined,” said Rose, “the furniture, our clothing, and all our personal belongings. We couldn’t live there. We had to move to my brother’s house while we tried to clean up.”
Thanks to the generosity of donors, who have so far contributed one-million dollars (USD) to the South East Asia appeal, CBM was able to assist Rose, her family and thousands of other people living with disabilities, while they rebuilt their homes and their lives.
“Because of donors we were able to provide Rose and many others with mattresses, pillows, blankets, clothing, kitchen items, food and water, and some cash for daily necessities,” said Peter Hammerle, CBM Project Advisor in the Philippines. “We also provided families with small children electric fans to keep Dengue carrying mosquitoes off the children while they sleep, and milk and vitamins to avoid the threat of malnutrition.”
The assistance was greatly appreciated.
“Belongings can be replaced,” said Rose, “but my children, well, they are alive and can go back to school.”
The devastation of Typhoon Ketsana made Rose think about the future. She would like to move out of Manila, open her own agricultural business and help other persons living with disabilities gain employment. The government has started a program to relocate those living in flood prone regions and Rose has applied for a loan. She still doesn’t know how she would work to repay the loan, as her limited vision impacts her opportunities to find work. But Rose is hoping (God will provide) the answers will come soon so she won’t have to ride out next year’s typhoon season on her neighbour’s roof.
NOTE: The funds raised from around the world for CBM’s South East Asia Emergency Appeal will go to help people living with disabilities and their families who were affected by Typhoon Ketsana, Parma and Mirinae in the Philippines, and those affected by the earthquake in Padang, Indonesia.
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