Waves for water for northern Iloilo’s Yolanda survivors

MANILA, Philippines — “Water, water, every where. And all the boards did shrink. Water, water, every where. Nor any drop to drink.”

This is from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

This may well be the case of northern Iloilo soon after its residents were left drenched and then desperately looking for clean water to drink after Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck.

“A year after Typhoon Yolanda, there are still places in Western Visayas which have little or zero access to clean drinking water,” said Lovely Robles, focal person of Waves For Water Western Visayas.

Addressing the need, around 500 clean water filtration systems were installed in the Iloilo towns of Balasan, Estancia, Concepcion, Barotac Viejo, and San Dionisio, and in selected towns of Capiz province.

“As a government employee, I know that I could not do everything, but I could do something,” Robles added. 

“It is about commitment and service to the people. The Waves For Water Group headed by Jon Rose contacted me, and now that immediate relief work is over, it is time for recovery,” Robles said. 

Rose got connected with Robles through Facebook before they met in Iloilo City. Robles and her group of friends (Danielle Arisola, Rowen Cosca, Marc Maio Judicpa, and Mark Vernon Dioquino) called “Ambag” were giving away hygiene kits to survivors then. Together with the Western Visayas Medical Center, the group also conducted medical missions starting in May.

Waves for Water is an international NGO formed by a community of surfers searching for waves in developing countries. Knowing that clean drinking water is not always accessible, its members bring with them ceramic filters that can be transported by an individual or larger filters that can provide clean water to an entire village.

“Close to a million people have been provided with access to clean water because of what we do,” according to Waves For Water Philippines head Carlo Delantar. — Rappler.com

For Rappler’s full coverage of the 1st anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), go to this page.