Unselfish acts of kindness and compassion

Unselfish acts of kindness and compassion

Volunteers Display Bayanihan Spirit

A beehive of activity in the basement of the Our Lady of the Assumption church. Volunteers classify and package donated relief goods to be sent to typhoon Yolanda victims in the Philippines.

By Beatrice S. Paez

The wreckage of Super Typhoon Haiyan cuts deeper than the scars of the landscape of fallen coconut trees, endless piles of rubble and craters of dirt where houses once stood. The human spirit, stretched to its breaking point, also needs to be rehabilitated, said Father Ben Ebcas of Our Lady of the Assumption, a parish on Bathurst and St. Clement’s with a large membership of Filipino-Canadians.

Here in Toronto, Filipino-Canadians are coping with the devastation on different levels, with many finding healthy outlets to channel their grief and despair, sorting through heaps of donations in kind and packing boxes.

FR. BEN EBCAS. Behind him are boxes of relief goods for typhoon survivors in the Philippines.

The parish has kept the hall open for the steady flow of parishioners and volunteers, who have flocked from the far corners of the GTA to pitch in the relief efforts.

“The weekends are the only days I have off,” said Guendolyn Consular, who made a special trip from Bolton, Ont. to spend the day helping out. “It’s the only way I can show I care, beyond giving money.”

The narrative of humanity coming together in times of distress is as strong as ever, with people from different communities bonded to the same cause.

“The bayanihan spirit is not quantifiable,” Ebcas told The Philippine Reporter. “Beyond these goods are people from all walks of life — Jewish, Muslim people coming together to form a caring community.”

Appeals for donations have been overwhelmingly met, so much so that Ebcas said they have given notice that relief goods will no longer be accepted at this point.

“We ran out of boxes,” said Rod Lalo, who works at the parish. “People are coming from faraway places with donations and they can’t bring it back.”

A week since Haiyan’s destruction, the church has sent over 100 boxes, and is preparing to ship a container filled with 360 more boxes, in time for the holidays.

Fr. Ben Ebcas with members of the Lemery Club Toronto taking a break from long hours of volunteer work at OLA. President is Maricel Cardona, centre in green shirt.

In financial assistance, the community has raised about $70,000 to date, and will continue to collect funds, which will be matched by the Canadian government until Dec. 9. Assessment of the damages and the allocation of the proceeds will be evaluated and dispensed by CARITAS, the Catholic Church’s relief and development arm.

The full extent of the casualties and the damages, are still largely undetermined, said Ebcas. Initial reports from the UN put the number of people dead at 4,460. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, there are about 1,871,321 who have been displaced, and over nine million people affected.

Not to be forgotten, are those who suffered from the October earthquake in Bohol, whose needs also continue to be assessed, he added.
Planning is already underway for “phase two” of the parish’s efforts to assist Haiyan (Yolanda) survivors and their families.

To avoid what he calls would be “a second disaser,” the point when humanitarian aid scales back, strategic planning is needed to sustain rehabilitation efforts.

“The victims of the devastated areas are in the hands of relief agencies now. When they leave, no one will catch them,” said Ebcas.

In lieu of their annual Christmas celebration, a clergy concert fundraiser will be held on Dec. 7. Civic groups are also stepping up, with one planning to hold a basketball tournament sometime in January.

Youth volunteers at the Our Lady of the Assumption church on Bathurst Street, Toronto

In between, the church is holding free counselling sessions for Filipino-Canadian families deeply affected by the disaster. The first round took place on Sunday, Nov. 19, with the next slated for Sunday, Nov. 24 at the Juana Tejada Lounge.

For his part, Ebcas is planning a trip to his hometown in Ormoc, where his family still resides. He wants to put his skills as a carpenter to use, rebuilding his mother and sister’s home, which was ravaged by the typhoon.

“My sister has put on a brave face for our mother,” he said. “The after shock has now hit her and I hope she won’t have a nervous breakdown.”
Ebcas and his family have weathered through similar circumstances in the past.

When news first broke about the scale of Haiyan’s devastation, painful images and memories of Tropical Storm Uring, which hit Ormoc in 1991, came rushing back.

Ebcas was there to witness the storm’s wrath, and had assisted in carrying bodies wrapped in tarpaulin and mats, to be buried in mass graves.
“I was hospitalized for exhaustion,” he recalled. “Three beds away, was a mother searching for her [deceased] son… They injected her with heavy sedatives, but she kept getting up. Where did she get the strength? Human affection can transcend human medication.”

In the struggle to make sense of the unimaginable misery and pain that disasters foment, Ebcas shares with them stories of survival and tries to remind people of the moments when God has intervened and responded to people’s petitions.

It’s unselfish acts of kindness and compassion that keeps his faith in God strong.

At church, a little Portuguese-Canadian girl came up to him, and told him that she was selling her mother’s handmade jewelry in a gesture to help raise funds for the children in Tacloban. She had been watching the news and had seen three girls, about her age crying, and somehow was able to identify with them.

“I felt God was talking to me through this little girl, this little angel,” Ebcas shared.