“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison ... “ (2 Cor 4:16-17, ESV).
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At the end of this week (May 31st), Cebu City hits a major milestone. It will be the last day of its twice extended quarantine, and the question on everyone’s mind is this: Will the local government begin to modify, ease, or lift the city’s enhanced community quarantine?
It also marks a milestone for CSC! The Shelter started a lockdown of its facilities at 10am on March 28th, making this weekend our lockdown's two-month anniversary. Praise God for His faithfulness, mercy, and provision!
For a recap, or a review of terms used here like "barangay,""sitio," and "lockdown," check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the timeline.
Before we get to the timeline, how about a couple of highlights?!
Birthdays! – During the month of May, our family had two quarantine birthdays 😊. Heather and Bastiaan were able to celebrate with friends and family remotely, and we want to thank all of you for the wonderful birthday wishes sent through email and social media!
At the Shelter there is a special song that we sing for every birthday celebrant. The lyrics include a line that says:
"Today is your birthday, a most special day ... you must be happy, more than yesterday!"
By God's grace, Heather and Bastiaan both had very special days, filled with baked treats and happy memories. THANK YOU!
Looking Back – I can’t remember the last time I read, let alone purchased, a newspaper in the States. In Cebu they’re a little more common. Near the Shelter, you can still find “newsies” at major intersections, ready to hand out papers to stopped motorists in exchange for 15-20 pesos (20-50 cents).
The other day I stopped by a convenience store to add load (add money) to my prepaid phone and saw an old edition of The Freeman laying on the counter. After noticing the date, I asked the clerk if I could buy it. While ringing up my order, she said to me, “sir, you don’t want that, it’s from weeks ago.”
She let me have the paper for free. The issue is from March 28th, 2020, back when there were only 12 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the whole of the Visayas (the central group of islands in the Philippines). As of May 26th, those numbers have grown to 14,669 cases nationally, with 2,021 cases coming from Region VII alone (Region VII is the Central Visayas, the administrative area covering the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor).
Please continue to keep the people of Cebu, and the children in our care, in your prayers. Your prayers are certainly being felt as we navigate this pandemic together.
Now Back to the Timeline!
May 10th – As of Sunday evening (May 10th), Cebu City surpassed Quezon City in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, making it the city with the highest number of cases in the Philippines.
Cebu City reported 1,571 positive cases with a number of hot-spots around town. A breakdown of the barangays with the highest number of cases are as follows:
Mambaling: 600
Luz: 194
Suba: 130
Labangon: 127
The untold story behind the numbers are the sharp rise in cases within urban poor communities. Barangay Mambaling is home to a sitio (barrio, or neighborhood) called Sitio Alaska, a dense patchwork of homes built on stilts which rests right next to the ocean. Alaska, Mambaling also sits across the highway from SM Seaside, the largest shopping mall in Cebu (and the third largest mall in the Philippines). The contrast often hits me when driving to SM Seaside; on one side of the road you’ll see images like the ones pictured below, and on the other side you’ll see a beautiful, multi-billion-peso mega-structure.
The following slideshow contains images of Alaska, Mambaling, as well as a shot of SM Seaside taken from the hills of Banawa (Banawa is where CSC is located).
What this meant for us? As mentioned in a previous post, Barangay Guadalupe and Barangay Labangon are where the Shelter, as well as our family's rented home, are located. Not only do increased cases in Cebu mean a likely extension to the city-wide quarantine, they could also signal a total lockdown in specific barangays and sitios such as ours.
This also affects our Outreach Program (described below). Lockdowns in the city make some of the people we help very difficult (if not impossible) to reach, forcing us to come up with creative ways of sharing support and spreading Christ's love.
Reported Cases of coronavirus in the Philippines as of May 10th:
Total Cases – 10,794
Deaths – 719
Recoveries – 1924
May 13th – The following video was taken while I was doing a supply run. It shows the extremely long line that formed when families were told that the DSWD (the Department of Social Welfare and Development), along with the local government, would be handing out aid to qualified families. The crowd was calm and patient, even though the line stretched for at least a kilometre. I never saw where the line ended; it faded into the distance after I reached my destination.
Some Background. It had been 46 days since Cebu City entered into a state of enhanced community quarantine. That meant that a majority of people living in the city had been without work, and without pay, for a month and a half.
Without a way to make a living, the situation for a lot of families became increasingly dire. Unlike the United States, the Philippines doesn’t have unemployment insurance, though they have created some programs to aid very low-income families. The Philippine government passed the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act which mandated increased emergency cash assistance to families through a program called SAP (Social Amelioration Program). Local governments were also tasked with providing food to families on lockdown and quarantine.
Unfortunately, the distribution of food and SAP proved to be problematic. There are limited resources and infrastructure (and sadly, reports of corruption).
What this meant for us? CSC has an Outreach Program for those families that are connected with the ministry in one form or another. These include surviving birth families of former residents and others who have been touched by the ministry in the past.
During this pandemic, we are trying our best to stay connected with these families. We have provided food for those near the Shelter, and have wired money from our Outreach budget to those in locales that are hard to reach or unsafe to travel to (such as locked down sitios in Barangay Luz). Please pray that we can continue to effectively share the love of Christ in word and in deed during this trying time.
Reported Cases of coronavirus in the Philippines as of May 13th:
Total Cases – 11,618
Deaths – 772
Recoveries – 2251
May 15th-16th – As other parts of the Philippines were moved to a more relaxed general community quarantine, the mayor of Cebu requested permission from the IATF to keep Cebu City in its current state of enhanced community quarantine. The mayor’s goal was to complete a tri-city initiative of mass testing before easing restrictions (the tri-cities include Cebu City along with neighboring Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City).
As of May 16th, there were four barangays in Cebu City with sitios under a state of total lockdown (see this post for more info on total lockdowns). This meant that community spread of coronavirus was active among the sitio's residents. Those barangays were:
Luz (Sitio Zapatera)
Mambaling (sitios Tinabangay and Alaska)
Carreta (Sitio Bagumbuhay)
Bacayan (Sitio Upper)
What this meant for us? The mayor’s request was approved and the quarantine was extended until May 31st. Fortunately, the number of cases in barangays Guadalupe and Labangon (the two right around the Shelter) showed signs of falling. In fact, on Friday, May 15th, the lockdowns that had been imposed inside Guadalupe and Labangon were lifted.
By God's grace, all of the children and staff continued to remain safe, healthy, and happy. We were still able to obtain supplies, medicine, and everything else we needed to provide for all those in our care.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for the prayers, love, and support. It's because of your partnership and generosity that our kids and staff remain well fed, healthy, and safe. To God be the glory!
Reported Cases of coronavirus in the Philippines as of May 16th:
Total Cases – 12,305
Deaths – 2561
Recoveries – 817
May 22nd-23rd – The number of cases of coronavirus within Cebu City began to fall. However, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Province of Cebu (outside of Cebu City) began to spike. One major hot-spot in was the neighboring city of Talisay.
On May 22nd, Talisay City accounted for 12 out of the 20 new cases of coronavirus in the Province of Cebu.
What this meant for us? This was cause for great concern among all of us at CSC. Many of our workers live at the Happy Homes subdivision located in Talisay City. Talisay was previously a safe haven from the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Cebu City.
These workers had not been able to come to the Shelter since our lockdown began on March 28th. Though they've been unable to work, we're prayerfully doing our best to provide them with partial pay (60%). The prayer is that this reduced wage, along with any other aid they would receive from the government, would be enough to help them get through this quarantine.
Please pray for everyone's continued health and safety.
Current COVID-19 numbers in Cebu City alone as of 4pm, May 25th (the latest day that the data is available):
Total Cases – 1,611
Deaths – 15
Recoveries – 27
Current COVID-19 numbers in the Philippines as of 4pm, May 28th:
Total Cases – 15,588
Deaths – 921
Recoveries – 3,598
TODAY, MAY 28th, is the 62nd day (the two-month anniversary) of CSC's lockdown. By God’s grace, all of our children and workers have remained safe and healthy, our supplies have been able to reach the Shelter without issue, and everyone appears to be in good spirits.
We are also adding six more workers to our locked in crew today. The decision to do so came after a lot of thought, consideration, and prayer. In order to help keep the current crew of locked in workers from getting overworked or overtired, and to ensure that all of our kids get the care that they need, we are adding two more teachers and four more aunties.
Before the new crew can join everyone else, they'll be quarantined for 14-days at our school (the Cebu Children of Hope School). Our excellent Facilities Director and facilities crew have done an amazing job transforming the school into a quarantine facility. Our medical team has also put in place a well thought out and robust plan of action should any of these new workers show signs of illness (a plan has already been in place should any previously locked in kids or workers become ill). Again, I can't say enough just how blessed and thankful we all are for your support, partnership, and prayer. You are a godsend!
Again, I can't say enough just how blessed and thankful we all are for your support, partnership, and prayer!
FAMILY PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please pray for our kids as our family finishes its homeschooling year. By God's grace, they've done an amazing job transitioning to life in the Philippines; this includes schooling from home in a different country. Pray that they'll be able to finish strong. Pray as well that we're able to figure out how best to get next year's school supplies to Cebu by August/September. We'll most likely have them ordered and delivered to family in the States, who will then ship them to us in a balikbayan box.
Please pray for our family's travel plans. Heather is on what's called a balikbayan visa, a visa granted to a spouse of a Filipino citizen (Roberto). A balikbayan visa only allows Heather to stay in the Philippines for a year, so before mid-September we'll either have to get a different visa for her or travel to another country for at least a day to reset her visa.
Thank you all again for praying with us! We are blessed to serve the Lord in Cebu alongside all of you!
Learn more about the Children's Shelter of Cebu here.
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