by: Nathaniel Puwok & Armando Santos
Northern Luzon has withstood a series of typhoons over the past few weeks, becoming one of the hardest-hit regions and leaving a number of grassroots-level communities struggling to regain their footing, hope appearing faint upon the aftermath.
In Cauayan City, Isabela, the consequence has been evidently distressing, affecting many students of Isabela State University (ISU) who now face the cycle of recovery. Prolonged power outages, food supply shortages, and extended class suspensions have disrupted their academic lives, worsening the difficulties brought by six typhoons that battered the Philippines in November alone.
With the onslaught of typhoons—Kristine to Pepito—and the water spillway release of Magat Dam at Ramon, Isabela, students were stranded in their boarding houses or apartments. Flood-drenched roadways and impassable bridges, like Alicaocao, have left students isolated, unable to return to barangays such as Maligaya, Villa Concepcion, and even San Mariano, which halted them from reconnecting with their families or accessing essential resources.
In response, the SSC of ISU-Cauayan Campus (ISU-CC) stepped up with a donation-driven initiative aimed at providing assistance to identified ISU students through an online survey. “Danggayan Ti Cauayan: A Call for Donation” was posted via Facebook on November 19 to reach more people to alleviate the burdens caused by such natural disasters, particularly typhoon Pepito. This is to help students as well as their families navigate post-storm challenges in order to recover, rebuild, and fortify resilience before and after calamities.
Moreover, the donation drive assembled people with their in-kind contributions in the form of cash, goods, and essentials that will help the victims of the storm, fostering bayanihan. Through collaborating with Abraham C. Domingo Chapter No. 70 order of DeMolay, Office of the Student Affairs and Services, and a team of student volunteers, they carried out the initiative to strengthen the community of students.
They distributed relief goods such as rice, noodles, canned goods, and water bottles and held a feeding program for over 105 students who are stranded in their boarding houses near Cauayan at the ISU-CC Gymnasium on November 21. These donations and transformational actions motivate students to continue their academic goals despite the sequence of difficulties—they survive and thrive.
John Collin Mayor, a first year student of Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from Cabaruan, shared his experience, “Napakahirap po matulog dahil sa mga nagdaang bagyo kasi halos tatlong araw na pong walang kuryente sa’min, at ang ginawa po namin ng magulang ko nag-ayos kami ng bahay dahil marami-rami rin po kasing nasirang gamit.”
“Kaya sobrang nagpapasalamat po ako sa initiative na ‘to kasi kahit papaano po nakatulong sila sa aming mga nahirapan at naapektuhan sa mga lumipas na bagyo. Nagpapasalamat din po ako sa mga mabubuting tao na tumulong at nagbigay ng donasyon,” Mayor added.
Donation efforts following a typhoon empower affected students and small communities by providing necessary resources, which restores hope. As a result, with each donation, each gesture of goodwill, and each shared moment of empathy, they collectively rise above adversity and, in turn, back up their respective survival units, whether in forest regions or urban areas.
However, with little participation and initiative actions, fractures left by disasters might not be fully mended. While initiatives like “Danggayan Ti Cauayan” embodied bayanihan for Cauayeños, it is worth noting that times of typhoon-stricken seasons affect everyone differently, which sheds light upon the diverse ways in which students experience and cope with adversity after adversity.
Connecting with more organizations and LGUs should be considered to truly restore hope within the community. By encouraging more people to engage in donation activities, allocating investments in community-driven solutions, expanding partnerships, and leaving no fellow student behind, they, even in the aftermath of a typhoon, can always find a silver lining.
