Today I arrived on the island of Panay. The two provinces on this island that were most affected by Typhoon Haiyan are Capiz and Iloilo. Fortunately, those who have been less affected are stepping up to the challenge and are assisting with the relief response.

One of my first stops in Panay was at a local Christian Reformed Church in Iliolo where volunteers were busy organizing and packing relief supplies.

One of the volunteers was Lucy Apostol. She and her husband, Vincente, lived in Grand Rapids until they became the first missionaries with Christian Reformed World Missions to go to the Philippines more than 50 years ago. They planted a church in Negros Island in 1962. Today, thanks to God’s grace and the hard work of these early pioneers, there are 46 organized Christian Reformed Churches and 27 emerging ones in the country. 

It was a privilege to meet Lucy and to see her ongoing commitment to Christian service in this country. It was also amazing to see that her commitment has spread to future generations. Lucy’s daughter Lori is doing all the data entry for the CRCP’s needs assessment surveys and Lucy’s 11 year old granddaughter, Andrea, skipped school today to help pack the relief packages.

But it isn’t just the Vincente family that is involved in helping typhoon survivors. All of the churches in Classis Panay (a regional grouping of churches on the island) are helping in this disaster response.

When I arrived at the Pavia CRC from the airport, for example, I found several men, women and children busy packing ½ of the goods that are to be distributed. The sound of Christian music playing and laughter from the women lifted my spirits. Deacon Maria Donasco told me that she gives thanks to God because He works in the hearts of people to encourage them to volunteer.

The CRC classis Panay will be providing 1,000 relief packages in highly affected areas on the island:

  • 800 in the Barangay of Pa-on in the municipality of Estancia in northern Iloilo
  • 100 in the Barangay of Palaguian and 100 in the Barangay of Cabungahan, both in the municipality of Ma-ayon, Capiz where we have emerging CRC churches.

Each relief package consists of:

  • 15 kgs of rice
  • 1 kg of sugar
  • 2 cans of meatloaf
  • 1 kg of mongo beans
  • 1 dozen milo
  • 1 bottle of Betadine and cotton for dressing wounds
  • 20 pieces of Paracotamol to treat fever.

We decided to include some medical supplies because our advance team that surveyed affected people found out that many babies were suffering with rashes and allergic reactions due to so much pollen disturbed by the wind, and acute respiratory disorders from tiny debris in the air. There are also environmental concerns because of oil spills.

Thank you, again, for your ongoing partnership!

We plan to walk with affected communities in the Philippines for the next few years, helping to restore them through various phases of recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Your prayers and support make this possible.

In Christ,

Grace Wiebe

Senior Disaster Response Manager
World Renew Disaster Response & Rehabilitation