Climate Refugees



Ondoy Typhoon

A climate refugee is a person displaced by climatically induced environmental disasters. Such disasters result from incremental and rapid ecological change, resulting in increased droughts, desertification, sea level rise, and the more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, cyclones, fires, mass flooding and tornadoes.

Such examples would be as follows:

Iram, Olongapo

I would like to understand Climate Refugees, the way I've experienced it and the way my classmates and friends also do.

Actually, getting into Immersion to less privileged and less fortunate particularly on refugees people had always been introduced into me, ever since I was in High school.

playing with the kids

 It was in Junior High when  my first encounter of this co-called immersion took place, at Iram, Olongapo. Since this place were also being helped by my former school, La Concordia College. We stayed there for almost 2 days and even slept with them.

roaming around

It was pretty hard to go from one place apart from the other since there were no electricity in town and even having a shortage on water supply. It was pretty  scary especially for  first-timer like me.  I've never felt that kind of living before. There were really so poor and find so hard to survive, their jobs weren't really that stable and most of them just dreamed of coming in Manila, hoping that a better future awaits them.

There were really less privileged when it comes to various incentives nor help from the govt. since considering also the location of their houses, it was really far from direct industrialization.

Marian Hills, Olongapo

 A year after that, we went back for another Immersion, but this time it was held in Marian Hills, Olongapo. Since according to rumors, Iram, was no longer safe to had our immersion since there were badly hit by various tragedies.

 In Marian Hills, it was like somehow just the same as compare to Iram, but at least there place were more okay at this time, and some of the houses to have electricity supplies. There typical living was just hearing mass every Sunday and  the kids  just tend to have fun by just simply running everywhere and playing with one another.  Houses were alright, except that there roads and their streets all the way through their places were still not very convenient.



NSTP in Sta. Ana



Then, upon entering college, NSTP was catered to every each and one of us,

and though the setting were far different from my previous experiences still that also gave me an understanding of how to deal with our brothers and sisters who were really less fortunate compared to us, located within Manila. We've been there for 6 days, and helped them throughout their day.

Botolan

Then, Botolan Immersion was also  one of a kind experience since once again, I've been in Olongapo with our Indigenous brothers and sisters. The Aetas, whom have been terribly hurt and destructed through strong typhoons and climate calamities.



with Archie

Our stay in Botolan, was just a short minute of time but the learning’s and experiences from the story of their lives and their means of living would always serve as a great inspiration for us simple students to keep on pursuing this kind of charity work like what our mentor have taught us to do so.

"It is true that we cannot give what we do not have, but it is also true that in giving, it is not only the material thing that matters for all of them, sometimes we also have to realize that our ears to lend them voice out what they want and what they need could easily make a huge impact in their society, and us, students who are fortunate enough to have this kind of activity could used it to help them to make there life better and easier".

Also see:  www.climaterefugees.com/

       Also see : http://ilovenats.blogspot.com/2011/07/immersion-botolan-zambales.html