Ondoy: More Stories of Tragedy and Inspiration
Posted in facebook, filipino, heroes, inspiration, internet, ketsana, ondoy, PBA, tony chua
Typhoon "Ondoy" has left our shores but not before leaving a trail of destruction and creating countless tales of inspiration. I was going through the news over the world wide thingamajiggy tonight and I came across a few articles that really caught my attention.
The first is a story of tragedy.
Former Philippine Basketball Association chairman Tony Chua was found dead in the aftermath of tyhoon Ondoy's onslaught. He drowned while he was apparently trudging the flood waters to get to his car near his residence in Cainta, Rizal. Being a big PBA fan, I was deeply saddened by his death. I sincerely offer my condolences to his family, and I would like to say that the PBA has indeed suffered a great loss with his untimely death.
The second story is heart-warming.
More than 600 inmates at the Mandaue City Provincial Jail have volunteered to skip one meal last September 30 and donate their rations to flood victims in Metro Manila. Their donation of four sacks of rice and several canned goods was coursed through the Office of the President through the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the National Disaster Coordinating Council. Even convicted criminals have a heart.
The third story basically sums up the online story of typhoon Ondoy.
Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter turned into disaster response hot lines as more and more concerned individuals continued to post tweets and status messages that were more like up-to-the-minute reports on the situation in areas affected by typhoon Ondoy. They provided information about missing persons or directions on where to route emergency relief assistance. This was definitely bayanihan in the twenty-first century.
As sportscaster Mico Halili put it, typhoon Ondoy was the "grim equalizer". For once in our society, prejudices and social status were rendered meaningless. Doctors, lawyers, celebrities, construction workers and even convicted criminals were united in dealing with the tragedy. Thousands of volunteers went out of their way to help those who were struck down by the calamity. In the face of adversity, every Juan dela Cruz stepped up and became a hero.
What a great nation of heroes the Philippines is.
sources:
ABS-CBN News
Cebu Daily News
GMA News
addendum: Reach out, lend a hand. More information on how to help those who were hit by typhoon Ondoy can be found on Super Bianca's blog, and on this site.
