Aid Worker Diary: The World Loves Filipinos

By: Aaron Aspi, Emergency Communications Specialist, World Vision Philippines

As a humanitarian worker, what keeps me going is knowing that there will come a time when the affected communities here in the Philippines will be able to get back on their feet, rebuild better communities and thrive again. 

Relief operations are a race against time. Everyone is working so hard. Hearing my teammates snore out of tiredness as we sleep every night is a welcome disturbance. It means winning another hard-fought day of assessments and relief distributions.

We cheer for each other after hurdling one challenge after another- working our way in the hardest hit islands of Panay, Cebu, Leyte and Samar. We continue to overcome massive logistical challenges to sustain relief distributions while providing community-based interventions like Women and Young Children Spaces for breastfeeding moms and Child Friendly Spaces to restore children's wellbeing.

Every distributed relief pack means one less worry as we strive to reach out to hundreds and thousands displaced people. It means that hungry children will no longer beg in the streets and work in peril to help their families. It means that a family will have nutritious food for two weeks and that they will be sleeping better using their plastic sheets, sleeping mats, blankets, and mosquito nets.

Inside the child friendly spaces, I listen to the children and look at their drawings, watch them dance and hear them sing. Playing volleyball with the children, I’m grateful for their trust as they let me in their world, walking me through their stories of grief and loss; stories of healing, resilience and enduring love. These stories help remind me why I chose to be a humanitarian worker.

Sometimes I had to go to a corner to catch my breath and fight away tears. There's no getting used to sharing tales of destruction, of seeing children and families suffer. Relief workers are not insulated from the difficulties of our people. We feel their hunger and thirst, their pain and loss. 

This experience of being with the disaster-affected communities rouses me early in the morning as I chase stories and this keeps me energized ‘til night while uploading story and photo resources– dodgy internet connectivity and all. This sustains humanitarian communicators like me every day as we cover disaster areas. This gives me courage to face the ever-changing contexts and understand the complex dynamics involved in mounting a massive emergency response.

My people's indomitable spirit- their kindness and resilience is sending a powerful message of hope in the hearts of millions of people across the globe. This brings courage and strength for relief workers like me. I'm proud to be a Filipino relief worker, standing strong and ready to serve, working with the world's best humanitarian workers on the ground, in solidarity with the rest of the world humbled and grateful by the outpouring love and support.