The tale behind the making of “Humans of Haiyan”


By: Lottie Salarda

The idea of making Humans of Haiyan came last August this year. I knew that time that I will take my 2 months review for the bar exams on September and October, and that means I won’t be able to write a story on the 2nd year anniversary of typhoon Haiyan on November 8.

Before I left Tacloban City, I traveled around the region to gather twenty-four personal life stories of the survivors. I made only twenty-four because I intended each of them to represent the twenty-four months after the disaster. In the middle of my review, I took some time to do some edits and print it using a part of my review budget. I had printed it because I want their stories to be preserved and remembered.

I want to know how they are coping with their situation two years later. This is not only a collection of sad stories but also an inspiration, hopes, and dreams. The twenty-four survivors have their own stories to tell.

And their stories are the living manifestation that the effects of the changing climate were still felt by the people and it will continue until the next generation if we will not act and unite to fight against it. 

Their faces symbolize resilience and also vulnerability.
Their stories are non-fiction. Just like climate change, it is also non-fiction. Love to our mother earth is not enough; we must act something to prove it. Act now not later!



Comments

  1. Raymund B VillanuevaDecember 15, 2015 at 11:57 PM

    kopya ko? pagbilhan mo ako!

    ReplyDelete
  2. PaulalalalaMarch 14, 2016 at 9:55 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. PaulalalalaMarch 14, 2016 at 9:56 PM

    Hi Lottie,
    Good day Ma'am Eden,

    I know this is not the best way to communicate with you but I have no other means to be able to talk to you Ma'am.
    I'm Paula Mercado, currently taking my M.A. in International Development Cooperation in South Korea. I am writing my M.A. thesis about “Assessing the Challenges of Humanitarian Aid Distribution, a Case Study in Tacloban City in Leyte, Philippines during the onslaught of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)." I just want to seek your help if where I could find a data for my thesis. I would like to prove that the humanitarian aid distribution in Taclabon during Typhoon Haiyan has failed. Also, I would highly appreciate if you could give me your insights about my thesis topic and your visit to Tacloban. Moreover, could you also give me a soft copy of your book as a resource for my second data.

    Hoping to hear from you.
    Thank you so much God bless!

    Best Regards,
    Paula

    ReplyDelete
  4. PaulalalalaMarch 14, 2016 at 9:56 PM

    Hi Lottie,

    I know this is not the best way to communicate with you but I have no other means to be able to talk to you Ma'am.
    I'm Paula Mercado, currently taking my M.A. in International Development Cooperation in South Korea. I am writing my M.A. thesis about “Assessing the Challenges of Humanitarian Aid Distribution, a Case Study in Tacloban City in Leyte, Philippines during the onslaught of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)." I just want to seek your help if where I could find a data for my thesis. I would like to prove that the humanitarian aid distribution in Taclabon during Typhoon Haiyan has failed. Also, I would highly appreciate if you could give me your insights about my thesis topic and your visit to Tacloban. Moreover, could you also give me a soft copy of your book as a resource for my second data.

    Hoping to hear from you.
    Thank you so much God bless!

    Best Regards,
    Paula

    ReplyDelete
  5. lottiethemessengerMarch 21, 2016 at 4:35 AM

    Hello Paula, yes I will help you. You can email me at lottie_salarda@yahoo.com.ph. thank you so much. :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The various dialects of Eastern Visayas

Image
This photo was taken during the celebration of Tacloban City fiesta last 2014.  Learning is fun especially if you’re interested in exploring new things that come your way each day. One of my interests is learning on how to speak the various dialects of Eastern Visayas. I traveled a lot in the past few weeks touring around the beautiful places of our region. I never had a travel in my college years. It’s all about waking up in the morning, speaking behind the microphone and studying at night. Since I was a kid, I’ve heard people speaking in “bisaya” and I find it very short but sweet to the ears. I found out that in Eastern Visayas, the inhabitants of some towns and provinces were speaking in “bisaya”. The province of Southern Leyte widely speaks “bisaya” as the place was closer to Central Visayas where large numbers of inhabitants were speaking the same dialect. The word “pangga” is short for “palangga” means “loved” is the sweetest among all words I had ever he
Read more

First Badjao teacher aims to produce more professionals from their tribe

Image
By: Lottie Salarda The pride of Brgy Dolho, Bato Leyte, Jesus Menjani Esmani, the first Badjao teacher in their community, is committed to produce more Badjao professionals by helping his nephews to get education. In his 22 years of working as a high school teacher, Esmani has produced two Electrical Engineers, one graduate of Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Bachelor of Science in Fisheries. Esmani, as the youngest child in the family, witnessed the hardships of his parents raising them by fishing as their means of livelihood. “ If there’s a storm, it means there will no food available for us. It’s so painful to see my family in that kind of situation, so with the encouragement of my high school teachers, and with the help of my siblings, I pursued my studies and dreamed that one day I will have a job,” said Esmani. He sells beauty and food products with his teachers, classmates and friends in school to help sust
Read more

"Labyu langga" one of the best songs ever written

Image
Bar owner Mr. Ruperto and his son performing live at Cafe Ruperto, San Antonio Northern Samar Honestly, ever since, it's been my frustration on not learning easily the bisaya  dialect which people of Central, Western and some other parts of Eastern Visayas speak. When I am in a place of bisaya  people, I listened and almost listed all those words I've heard and study them carefully. This month, we, from the local media together with bloggers and with the Department of Tourism visited the island of San Antonio in Northern Samar. Actually, that visit was not my first time. I was with the Zuellig guy who accompanied me to meet the Municipal Health Officer of the town for our Solar Scholars Program last month. I haven't gone to Cafe Ruperto when I visited the island. The place was perfect in listening to the love songs they sing while the night was covered by thousands of fireflies flying beautifully and peacefully. The owner Mr. Ruperto performed for us as he narrat
Read more