MARIGEN DID NOT LET HER DISABILITY FAIL HER DUTIES AS A MOTHER. SHE BRAVED THE TYPHOON TO BRING HER FAMILY TO SAFETY.
Marijen Malinao, 35, a mother and a PWD, dreams of a better life for her family and two daughters.
Marigen still remembers the sound of the howling wind, the huge waves, the heavy rain, and her children’s cries because of fear during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette. Marigen, with her children and relatives, went to the evacuation center immediately. Situated near the ocean, it was not safe for them to stay inside their house. However, Her husband was left inside to keep their things in place.
On her way to the evacuation, Marigen carried with her five kilos of rice she received from the government the night before the typhoon. It isn’t enough for them to last. During the typhoon, Marigen lived at her parent’s house. In Siargao, government aid is usually given per household, not per family. They had to share the 5 kgs of rice with her mother and other relatives who lived in the house. Marigen had with her another sack of rice she loaned in preparation for the typhoon. It was soaked in the rain but still, she brought it with her. As a PWD with mobility problems, this was very difficult for her. On her way to the evacuation site, she even lost her sandals. But they had nothing. She needed to save the rice, so they had something to eat when they survived—the storm was indiscriminate.
Her husband didn’t have a better fate. As the storm got stronger, the walls of their house got destroyed, and he had to climb their wall to transfer to the nearest house that was still standing in the area. After the typhoon, the couple decided to check on their house but Marigen told her husband ” ano pang uuwian natin, wala na ung bahay natin.” To restart, they decided to live separately from her mother. In this way, they can also receive separate government aid for their family.
Their legal documents, including their birth certificate, got damaged. Luckily, Marigen kept her children’s birth certificates separately. They weren’t damaged and were kept dry inside the cellophane. During the legal mission, she got a Security Paper copy of the birth certificate for her and her husband. They needed those documents to fulfill the school requirements for her two daughters to check identification and spelling of names. TY Odette Response of IDEALS Inc. aims to provide processing for free for legal documents (birth cert, marriage cert, late registration) for victims and residents in Siargao Surigao Del Norte, after the typhoon almost destroyed and washed out the houses of the families there.
The typhoon took a lot from her children too. All their school modules were gone, and their uniforms got holes and were damaged. Marigen had to sew and fix it herself because she could not afford to buy them new ones.
Rachelle Jane Malinao, 10, and Ricca Mae Malinao, 8, are both very bright students. They study hard so they give a better life to their family. Marigen dreams of becoming a nurse while Ricca wants to be a police officer.
The typhoon took a toll on her children. One day, Marigen saw her daughter’s notebook and found a letter inside. Her daughter wrote, “nakakaawa naman kami, sana makapagtapos ako ng pag-aaral para makatulong ako kila nanay”. As she read the letter, tears started falling from her eyes; however, her daughter saw that she had read it. Rachelle took the notebook from her, and Marigen never saw it again.
For Marigen, the sea is as beautiful and peaceful as it was before Odette. Whenever she hears the rain pour heavily and the waves start hitting the shore, she vividly recalls the typhoon and fears that it might happen again.
TY Odette Emergency Response is funded by the EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid (EU ECHO) and is implemented by Save the Children Philippines, Humanity & Inclusion Philippines and Indonesia, Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS, Inc.), Sentro para sa Ikauunlad ng Katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya (Sikat Inc. – Siargao Islands, Surigao del Norte), and Oxfam Pilipinas.
IDEALS Inc. conducted several legal missions and community awareness sessions to the residents and victims of Typhoon Odette in San Isidro, Burgos, Socorro, and Pilar Siargao, Surigao Del Norte, in response to the need for replacement of lost, damaged, and destroyed copies of legal documents (such as birth, death and marriage certificates), as well as late registration of unregistered residents.
