“When I returned home from the evacuation site, the morning after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette, the sight I came home to was heartbreaking. The roof of our house is gone, and most of our coconut trees were damaged. Our rice crops and the pineapple plants are also gone,” Paulina said, in tears.
For 40 years, Paulina Roxas, 68, worked in Manila as a metro aid and maid to provide for her family’s needs in the province.
But in 2014, Paulina started living with her family in a farm in Brgy. Kauswagan, Trinidad, Bohol, where they plant coconut, cacao, pineapple, and rice. They earn an average of ₱500.00 ($10) daily from their harvest which they budget for all their needs until the next harvest.
In 2021, her husband passed away due to stroke, leaving her all the responsibility in earning a living for their daily needs and her son’s college education.
Unfortunately, few months after losing her husband, Paulina also unexpectedly lost their means of livelihood when Typhoon Odette made a landfall in Bohol, damaging all their crops and trees. The burden is hard for her to carry as the storm hit just in time for her son’s enrolment.
In her rough estimate, it will take 4 to 5 years before her plantation recovers.
Though heartbroken, Paulina clings to God and is thankful that her whole family is safe from the typhoon. Her daughter is in Cebu while her other son is in Leyte – both areas where Odette also made a strong land fall.
Paulina’s hope is enlivened seeing God’s hands to those who are giving them assistance, and she is persistently praying for their fast recovery from the typhoon.
Paulina is just one of the hundreds of kababayans in Brgy. Kauswagan, Trinidad in Bohol who received a food bag and bottled water from Operation Blessing.
Be a CHANNEL OF BLESSING to our disaster-affected kababayans, like Paulina. Give today at www.operationblessing.ph.