ASEAN Hive Community Challenge #179 After Kalmaegi: Rebuild & Rise - Our Efforts to Bounce Back

Hello there 👋

It's been a while,, but I'm back with a story I know many of you can relate to,, our experience during and after Typhoon Kalmaegi here in Guimaras..
It was a wild few days,, but it also showed how tough we are 💪

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Our crazy week started even before the typhoon got serious..

On Monday, November 3rd, just after 3 AM, we were woken up by an earthquake that shook Negros and reached us.. 😟
Talk about a spooky start..

That night, the lights were still on, but the internet was already acting weird..
We were under Signal No. 2, so we thought we were ready..

Then came Tuesday, November 4th.. Everything went from zero to one hundred fast!!
By 8 AM, we were hit with a frightening Signal No. 4..

The lights went out..
The electricity and internet connection waved goodbye as the heavy rain and strong, angry wind began to roar..

Looking outside was like watching a scene from a disaster movie..
The trees were thrashing around and the papaya trees were bending..
looking like they'd be ripped from the ground any second..

The world turned into a fast, wet, gray blur..
We just had to huddle down and wait for the chaos to pass..

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Wednesday, November 5th, brought that wonderful, quiet morning after..
The typhoon was gone and we could finally step outside and see the damage..
Many towns in our province were still in the dark,, no electricity at all..
The internet was barely breathing..

I checked our garden,, and it wass a mess..
Banana trees were snapped in half

and the sturdy papaya trunks looked like they had been chewed through by the wind..

my ladyfinger (okra) is still standing, though..

But it felt sad to see all that beautiful green broken and scattered..

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Even our small dirt road was blocked by a huge, fallen branch..

The good news?
The amazing linemen worked overtime!!
We found out that a tree had fallen right onto the electrical wiring near us..
They fixed it that afternoon and just like that,, the lights came back on for us!!
It was a huge relief..

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🍌 The Unexpected Harvest and Paying it Forward..

Seeing the state of our community garden was rough..
Since so many plants were destroyed,, we had no choice but to do an emergency harvest before the remaining fruits spoiled..

Saved 🍌
We managed to save a beautiful bunch of plantains and got a taste of a ripe, juicy, bright orange papaya..

some young buko also fell to the ground.. good thing no one was hurt.. so we gathered them and gave them to those who wanted them..

It wasn't the way we wanted to gather them,, but we immediately started giving the fresh fruits to our neighbors..
It felt good to share the small wins..

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The storm may be gone,, but the effects aren't..
My sister in the nearby town is still without power,, along with many others..
So, my new mission began!! 💪

I gathered up all our power banks, bright flashlights and rechargeable fans and charged them all up..
We're sending this little survival kit over to my sister and her neighbors, especially those with little kids..
It's just a small gesture but a little light and a gentle breeze can make a world of difference when you're sweating in the dark..

We got lucky,, and now it's our turn to help others get through the waiting game..

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This concludes my entry for @asean.hive challenge #179..
Thank you @justinparke, for this initiative..

Wish everyone who has experienced the same or even worse during typhoon Kalmaegi a speedy recovery and strength to overcome this challenge..
We can get through this.. 💪💪💪

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Texts and Images by @vvodjiu. The lead photo was edited on Canva

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