Plunge boldly into the thick of life, and seize it where you will, it is always interesting.
I spent almost a week in Tacloban City recently for one of my commissioned assignments. It was my first time in the area and I was able to see how the city is recovering from last year’s Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) devastation. I talked to people, explored the city and observed how many foreign nationals are there for volunteerism projects and aids. While I liked the idea, it has also spiked the prices of establishments as they catering to these foreigners. Some families displaced by the typhoon are still living along the “No Build” zones. Even after a year their promised houses aren’t built yet but they noticed some local officials already have 3 brand new cars post-Yolanda. It is interesting to actually see and hear what’s really happening in the city. While I applaud how the city is picking up and is looking more promising in developments with better choices for hotels and restaurants, its sad that recovery is still in a very slow pace. I get the same sentiments from most people I’ve talked to that help comes directly from foreign and local NGOs than where it should be, the local government. Yes they get help, but not enough, not as promised.
Now, Tacloban City, still healing its wounds from Yolanda is now facing the threats of Typhoon Ruby along with its neighbouring eastern provinces. I’ve witnessed that the people are more prepared now learning from last year’s lesson’s. They won’t take these warnings for granted this time and have started their preparations. But still we are praying that the storm wouldn’t be as devastating as last year’s Yolanda. For this week’s Nikon Shot, I took this photos of kids enjoying the small pier at Balyuan to refresh themselves at the sea after school. It’s just shows that despite what happened to Tacloban City, people, especially young ones, can look past at what happened and still enjoy the simple pleasures of life.
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Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
