Bernadeth: Recovering from Typhoon Haiyan 1 Year On — Where we work — Plan InternationalBernadeth: Recovering from Typhoon Haiyan 1 Year On — Where we work — Plan International
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              Bernadeth: Recovering from Typhoon Haiyan 1 Year On
           
      




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Bernadeth: Recovering from Typhoon Haiyan 1 Year On

Bernadeth lives with her mother and 5 siblings in one of the worst areas in Tacloban. The family has a newly-built house thanks to Plan's building-back-better project.

 
Bernadeth, 16, lives with her single mother and five siblings in Tacloban, one of the cities most affected by Typhoon Haiyan. Bernadeth’s house was shattered by the storm and for a long time, they had to stay in an evacuation center.
”My life has changed after the typhoon. Before I used to rebel, but the typhoon made me realize that I need to value what’s important in life. Like my mother and my siblings. Life is too short. Everything can go unexpectedly,” she recalls. After the typhoon, Bernadeth stopped school and went to Manila to visit a relative. She came back in April of 2014 and continued high school a few months later.
 “It’s hard,” she explains. “I’m the oldest of five siblings and my mother is a single parent and doesn´t have a job. I feel a great responsibility. All I can do now is try my best in my studies, so I can attend college. My goal is to be an English teacher.” 
A new reality
In Bernadeth’s neighborhood in Tacloban, most of the houses are partly or totally destroyed. Many families live under makeshift shacks with roofs made of tarpaulin or tin. For almost 6 months, Bernadeth’s family also lived in temporary housing. Fortunately, they were one of the first families to receive a home under Plan’s ‘Building Back Better’ project, one of the 300 rebuilt homes in Tacloban City. The project also trains locals on carpentry and plumbing skills, so the community can build new homes using disaster-resistant construction techniques. 
 The rain is hammering down on Bernadeth’s new tin roof. Inside the small home, the noise of rain and children’s voices fill the air. Bernadeth’s mother Ruvelyn, 35, is breastfeeding her infant, while her four-year-old Angelo is lying under the table with a packet of crayons. Meanwhile, Bernadeth teaches English vocabulary to her three sisters: Lauren (15), Shaira Mae (12) and Marlene Kim (10). Every inch of the 16 square meter house is used: clothes hang delicately from the ceiling and only a small parting reveals the one bed that is meant for the whole family.
Moving forward
“Our situation now is much better than before, because now we have a home. This house from Plan is a very big help. It’s much better than our old house,” explains Ruvelyn. Bernadeth says their biggest worry is livelihoods. For work, Ruvelyn sometimes washes clothes for other people, but most of the time they have no income what so ever. Ruvelyn’s sister offers her support.
“It is very difficult. We have to ask my aunt for everything – food, clothes, money for the school bus,” Bernadeth recalls.
“I have to succeed with my studies and get myself a job, so that I can support my siblings. Right now I don’t have any time on my own, like to be with my friends, play my favorite sports, read my favorite books. All I do is study and help my mother. Of course I want to enjoy my life, I want to be a youth. But my aunt is encouraging me, she’s telling me there is a time and a place for everything.”
Please support the recovery - donate to the Haiyan appeal.






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