A COMMUNITY RISING FROM THE MUD

My name is Gillian and although I am based abroad, my heart goes to Danao City, Cebu... a place where I grew up visiting family and where much of my extended family still lives, in a small community called Barangay Taboc.

Typhoon Tino tore through Barangay Taboc, Danao City (CEBU) around 3am on the 5th November, leaving families surrounded by mud and loss. Roofs were torn away, homes flooded and nearly everything they owned - beds, cookware, clothes, furniture, school supplies, all have been destroyed overnight. Stories of families scrambling to their rooftops, barely making it out alive, some drowning, have been circulating throughout the communities of Cebu. To hear these stories from within my own family's experience there has been devastating.

From abroad, I've been doing what I can to support my family who live there in Taboc as well as some of their neighbours. There are homes buried in mud, furniture washed away, families sleeping on wet muddy floors, homes destroyed or completely turned upside down, entire livelihoods gone overnight. This community has no choice but to start again from NOTHING.

My family outside the Philippines have begun sending direct help for food, clean water and doing what we can remotely to help clean up the mess. But it has become clear that government support and aid is spread very thinly and the need is far beyond immediate relief. What these families need now is the means to clean, recover and rebuild their lives with dignity. To replace what was lost and to live safely again. The elderely or sick especially cannot manage this situation and the availability of help is spread very thinly across this region.

WHAT THIS FUNDRAISER WILL DO

I'm raising funds to help families in Taboc get back on their feet - beginning with clean up and continuing through full recovery and rebuilding. As support grows, we will extend the same model to continue supporting more families in the barangay - one verified household at a time.

Each family will receive support for:

Clean up + Sanitation - shovels, boots, bleach, gloves and local labour to clear debris and mud.

Essential Household items - mats, bedding, cookware and small furnitue to restore daily life.

Home Rebuilding + labour - roofing sheets, lumber, nails, cement and carpentary to rebuild safe shelter.

Livelihood Restart - seeds, tools or small store goods so families can earn again.

Immediate medical care - Basic medical supplies to continue treating wounds. Those exposed to floodwaters need to take preventative medication against Leptospirosis, a serious infection that can develop after contact with contaminated water (from rat urine). At the moment, most of Danao City is shut down so obtaining these things urgently is one of our priorities.

HOW THE FUNDS WILL BE USED

Clean up + Sanitation - estimated 10,000 pesos per family (approx $175 USD)

Household essentials - estimated 25,000 pesos per family (approx $425 USD)

Home Rebuilding + labour estimated 65,000 pesos per family (approx $1,100 USD)

Livelihood Restart - estimated 10,000 pesos per family (approx $175 USD)

TOTAL PER FAMILY = 110,000 pesos per family (approx $1,800 USD)

Five families goal = 550,000 (approx $9,000-10,000 USD)

ACCOUNTABILITY + CO-ORDINATION

WHY IT MATTERS

This isn't only about relief; it's about helping families stand again after losing everything. Each contribution turns mud into clean floors, tarps into roofs and loss into the courage to rebuild.

Even the smallest gift helps restore safety, livelihood and hope in Taboc.

Thank you for standing with these families as they begin again.

With gratitude,

Gillian