It’s been six months since the earthquake hit the island of Bohol. Tents, tarps and shelters thrown together with left over pieces of tin are easily spotted throughout the island. Families who once enjoyed the comfort of a home have been “camping” ever since. Many without electricity, running water or plumbing and any hope of it changing for them any time soon.
Pops “nickname” and his family have been living under a big tree with a tarp on the corner of their property trying to make life work with the new normal. Relief agencies have been slow in providing anything more than temporary shelters. The one agency that did approach Pops about providing him with a home was Habitat for Humanities. As a part of their contribution they require that the homeowner provide P20,000-P30,000Php Peso as a counterpart. Pops works as a Pastor and as a fisherman and he knew he would never be able to come up with that amount of money.
Daily Pops and his family prayed for a miracle, that somewhere, somehow they would be given a home.
Through God’s intricate connections of timing, people at IDEA were made aware of the need. With 10 family members crammed into their temporary shelter under the tree, we felt it best to provide them with two core houses setup side by side. Although the combined floor space is only 387 square feet, this is a great place for them to begin the rebuilding process.
What a blessing it was to be able to provide the answer to prayer and help one of God’s “Fishers of Men.”
