[Note: Gwen Stang, the Development and Peace- Caritas Canada (DPCC) representative at St. Mary Parish in Macklin for about three decades, recently retired from this position. A story which touched her heart involved an exposure trip to the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan by some members from Saskatchewan whom she knew. One of the participants in that exposure trip, Norm Lipinski of St. Philip Neri Parish in Saskatoon, has written this story.]
By Norman Lipinski
Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in November 2013. The eastern island of Samar bore the brunt of the storm. The storm surge hit the city of Tacloban, washing ships onto shore and people out to sea. Many hundreds took shelter in the basketball arena. When the storm surge hit, the arena filled with water and those people drowned.
We arrived in Manilla in June, 2014, a group from Saskatchewan and the Maritimes.
We visited partners in the area, concentrating on groups working on housing. Land ownership in the Philippines is concentrated in the hands of a few old Spanish settler families; the vast majority of people are tenant farmers or squat on public land. One particular partner had organized a group to resist relocation by the government and had managed to negotiate new housing in the area, rather than being transported many kilometres away from their schools and livelihoods. This initiative bore the later idea of Pope Francis village.
We also visited sites in Samar and witnessed firsthand the destruction caused by Haiyan. Six months after the storm, people were still housed in United Nations tents that were designed to last 90 days. The heat and humidity were very high, so conditions were poor.
One group we visited had started a garden of hope. All the women involved had lost someone in the storm – parents, husbands, children. In the garden they grew food for themselves but also talked to each other and worked through the trauma of their experience.
(Photo courtesy of the Lipinski family)
We also attended the opening of a village of new housing funded by Development and Peace – Caritas Canada (DPCC) and the Canadian government. Because land ownership is a problem, the houses were designed to be easily moved if the landowners change their minds and want the land for another purpose.
All in all, the trip gave me a far more clear idea of how effective is the partnership model of DPCC empowering people to advocate for a better life for themselves and for their children.
(Photo courtesy of the Lipinski family)
A documentary video about this project, “After the Storm: Building the Pope Francis Village” can be viewed at www.devp.org:
Related: Ready, Set – CREATE HOPE – Link to Reflection
Related: Celebrating 55 years of Solidarity – Walkathon 1968 for CCODP – Link to Reflection
Related: Celebrating 55 years of Solidarity through Development and Peace – Link to Reflection about Share the Journey 2019
A historical note:
“In 1967, the Canadian bishops launched the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace as a creative new way to assist the poor and oppressed peoples of the world in their struggle for justice…To realize this vision, the new organization devoted many of its resources to building an integrated social movement that educated Canadians about global injustice and mobilized them for action…The origins of Development and Peace were at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Working closely with their colleagues from Latin America, Africa and Asia, the Canadian bishops became increasingly aware of the massive poverty and systemic injustices that confronted the developing world…” – Page 13 of the book Jubilee, 50 Years of Solidarity by Peter Baltutis.
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