Houses for Yolanda survivors: ‘Super beautiful’ but…

LEYTE, Philippines – In Palo, Leyte, a 15-minute ride from the town center leads to the houses built for survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda. A Buddhist group is funding this new village, as the government taps the private sector in rehabilitation efforts.

Paterno Esmaquel files this video blog.

Sturdier, safer, cleaner. These are the permanent houses being built by the Buddhist group Tzu Chi Foundation here in Palo, Leyte. Palo Mayor Remedios Petilla says 265 families, or 1,200 Yolanda survivors, will live here. Many beneficiaries work here as volunteers. They find these shelters better than their houses before.

JEYLEN DONASCO, PALO RESIDENT: Super ganda para sa amin! ‘Yung dati naming bahay, barong-barong lang. ‘Yung tagpi-tagpi. ‘Yun lang ang dati naming bahay. Napakaganda nito kumpara sa amin dati. (This is super beautiful for us! Our old house was just a shanty, the patched-up type. That was our old house. This is so beautiful compared to our house before.)

But they say there’s also a downside. One of these is, the Buddhist group doesn’t allow them to bring livestock to be slaughtered.

MYRNA ESTOPA, PALO RESIDENT: Maganda naman ang patakaran nila pero bawal talaga ang mag-ano ng hayop. Malayo sa school, malayo sa palengke. Pero tinitiis na lang namin, kasi wala na kaming ibang mapupuntahan. (They have good guidelines, but we’re really not allowed to bring our livestock. It’s far from the school, far from the market. But we just make do, because we really have nowhere to go.)

Yolanda survivors hope these better houses will mean better lives as well.

Paterno Esmaquel, Rappler, Palo, Leyte. – Rappler.com