Bears, Baguio and Bouncing Back

Bartimus Maximus via Flicker

While I'm a fan of all things minimalist, I wasn't always like that. I remember going berserk completely insane a little overboard with stuffed toys and dolls way back when. My pink, frilly bedroom was proof enough. An odd choice? Maybe. A rare one? Hardly. How else can you explain the billions of stuffed toys sold in stores all over the world year after year. Could never really put my finger on why I loved them so much. Why many children do. I only knew they made me happy. And when I took them along, they reminded me of a warm, safe place.

Cathy Guballa, friend, writer and blogger , grief counsellor and driving force behind Migi's Corner knows just the thing to help alleviate the emotional pain our children are suffering after two successive typhoons that have crippled the country. This is a repost of her column from the Sunday paper.

BEAR HUGS FOR BAGUIO

The children in many of Baguio's evacuation centers have been severely traumatized by the typhoon. Reports say that many of them stare blankly at walls and have no appetite. A stuffed toy is a small thing, but for a child who has been through a nightmare such as the recent floods and typhoon, it can mean everything and help him or her break out of that shell. Together with Pine, A Baguio NGO, a group of friends and I are trying to raise at least 500 bears or stuffed toys to send to Baguio's children. If you would like to donate your old teddy bears or stuffed toys, please email 10000bears@gmail.com or send a text message to 0917-529-1964 so we can advise you on the drop off point. Thank you very much.

So grab those toys and send them her way. While you're at it, give your own little ones a tight hug today. All children deserve warm, safe places.

Nice Weather for Ducks

Credit goes to Lemon Jelly for the title. Why the eff did you guys split up?! Namesake track seemed to be a good post-typhoon song. We've been listening to the kick-ass BBC Live Lounge rendition over family dinner the past few days. I share the song with you here. No ifs, no buts, no fees... download na. You're welcome Lemon Jelly fans!

During this past week of rainy, gloomy weather, Bear made this painting "because I miss the sun".

Our 5-year-old painter also really likes this Lemon Jelly song. Maybe because when he was wee-months-old I used to play it (a lot) while nursing him or just dancing around the room while I carried him. I remember Baby Bear giggling when I made my funny voice singing, all the ducks are swimming in the waaa-ter! So here... just a little electro-pop ditty to welcome the sun...

Chicha is also glad Mr. Sun came out today so they can go back to school. Good morning sunshine!

Mr. Sun kisses the flowers somewhere outside our home, as we all get back to work and school and outdoor play.

After a week reeling from a climate change calamity, there is still a lot to be done to overcome loss and tragedy - not to mention stop global warming! But life goes on... and we can still count some of our blessings.

Through The Eyes Of A Child

This is the face of the Filipino child. Who finds the time to smile even when we don't give her and millions of others much to smile about.

Scene from a Cainta Relief Center.Thank you, Macdaddy

This is the voice of Severn Suzuki who found the time- and the guts! - to teach us.

In the first Earth Summit staged in Brazil in 1992, this 12-year old stunned a crowd with her honest and brave words. Seventeen years later, this video is still being viewed by millions all over the world.

"At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us how to behave in the world. You teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, to share, not to be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do?"

"I'm only a child and I don't have all the solutions, but I want you to realize, neither do you! You don't know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer. You don't know how to bring salmon back up a dead stream. You don't know how to bring back an animal now extinct. And you can't bring back forests that once grew where there is now a desert. If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it!"

It's high time we look at our children. And listen. And give them something truly worth smiling about.

Lending A Hand For Ondoy's Victims

Even little hands can help. Kind of... Right Nana?

Nana's living room is rice-packing central.

Boys cleaning up their spillage from rice re-packaging.

For Ondoy Relief donors, it's best to re-pack rice into single kilo bags to make it easier and faster for donation centers to get them out. Goods are pouring in (thank God) but the re-packing has become a major production. So... you can also go to any center near you and with just your bare hands you can donate your packing skills. Teeners and middle schoolers with no school can have something to do!

Every donation counts. A few sacks of rice will be welcomed in many relief centers, like this one in Whitespace, Pasong Tamo where Viva Mamas and kids dropped-of an afternoon's worth of rice re-packing. Whitespace will be open for donation drop-offs until this Friday October 2.

Packed and ready for distribution.

Boxes of goods that still need to be sorted and re-packed.

At the Ortigas area, the Mega Tent on Meralco Avenue (beside Renaissance Towers and across The Alexandra) is accepting donations 24-hours-a-day until Friday October 2. Some nice student volunteers from UAP will be on hand to accept, gather and sort all your donations.

Needs include: RICE, BEANS especially MUNGGO, CANNED SARDINES, TUNA, INSTANT NOODLES, CRACKERS, BREAD, MILK, BASIC MEDICINE and FIRST AID SUPPLIES, SOAP, TOWELS, BLANKETS and CLOTHES. WATER is also a major need, but best for distribution are bottles that are 500ml size or slightly larger. Too big and the water bottles are hard to distribute.

For people all over the Philippines and around the world click here to see where it would be most convenient for you to donate or lend a hand. A lot of people hit hard by Ondoy need our help. Keep those donations coming. This will have to be sustained for some time. For now....

Thanks for lending a hand Tato.

You deserved that ice cream break Bear and Mak.

Over dinner tonight Chicha tells us: Today we went to a very responsible place.

Her dad was so amused! I think I catch her drift.

Ondoy and an Inconvenient Truth

The neighborhood I grew up in has never experienced waist-deep flood - until yesterday. It has never experienced retaining walls collapse from floodwaters - until yesterday. Yesterday was when Typhoon Ondoy (a.k.a. Ketsana) hit the Philippines. As the day went on you would hear the same - neighborhoods getting hit by major floods like never before, completely unexpected.

Somewhere in Cainta, Rizal a dog gets rescued.

Photo from the Inquirer website.

The way PAGASA sums it up, Ondoy brought a month's worth of rain in just 6 hours. The last time Philippine rainfall reached this record level was 42 years ago. Back then it took 8 days of rain to accumulate.

San Mateo Rizal was one of the towns hit hardest by Ondoy.

Photo from the Inquirer.

8 days... versus yesterday's 6 hours... accumulating a month's worth of rain. Floods where it never flooded before. All these come to mind: Manila's drainage and garbage system, worldwide climate change and Al Gore freaking the hell out of me with his inconvenient truth.

For today, we just hope and pray no one else drowns or gets electrocuted. Red Cross needs volunteers. If you're in Manila and willing to lend a hand Call the Red Cross: Pasay 8542748 /4343751; LasPinas 8734873/4689688; Pasig 6350922; Alabang 8093132; Manila 5245787/5270864. Starting today, La Salle Greenhills is accepting donations for convenience food, powdered milk, blankets, clothes, cough and cold, fever medications, etc. Same with Victory Center in Greenhills and Victory Church in The Fort.

For the long term, it is time to face that inconvenient truth. Gore and those scientists are not shizzing with us!

School's out tomorrow for the entire National Capital Region. Some roads still impassable. Stay safe and dry. Hope all your loved one's are accounted for.