Things look a little different around Saipan these days. I hope they do in Tinian, too.
There are no more long lines at gas stations or water suppliers. No more traffic jams in As Lito because of the S-(Supplemental) and D-(Disaster) NAP (food stamps). There are fewer “Feds” driving around, too, replaced now by the brightly-colored convertibles we are used to seeing.
Some things are returning, little by little, back to normal. Normalcy and stability are very welcome, and hopefully soon everyone in our community will be able to return to familiar routines.
For those who are not yet recovered, Karidat and our partner organizations are here for the long run and will keep helping where we can.
Since late October when Yutu came through our islands, Karidat has been preparing for the time when the immediate disaster response efforts would wrap up their work of being first and second responders. For the past seven weeks or so, crippled by the physical damage from the storm to our newly-established Sister Remedios Community Center, we have been less active in distributing aid and supplies than we would have otherwise been. But now we are entering a new phase in our relief efforts.
And that brings us to what is now a newly significant number around here:
4,865.
That’s how many individual cases were determined to still be in need of assistance, after the help they received from other sources such as FEMA, Red Cross or others. Karidat will be taking on the case management for all of them as we enter the new phase of rebuilding: the long-term disaster recovery stage.
When we spoke before about Karidat’s role in assisting with the long-term recovery efforts, it was never only theoretical, but now there is a numerical figure associated—a headcount: 4,865 new cases for us to tackle and to try, in collaboration with our partner agencies, with local business and property owners, and others, to find solutions.
That’s 4,865 people who are still in precarious situations relating to housing, earning a livelihood, or making car or phone payments so they can make it to work or school. This storm was just so widely devastating, the needs of the community are still so great, and there are simply too many people who are either ineligible for further assistance or perhaps could not qualify for aid to begin with.
So this 4,865 is not just a number; it is names and faces. Most importantly, these are people and they are our neighbors here in Saipan and Tinian.
To give the reader an idea of the needs still to be met:
- The top priority of those visiting our office in Chalan Kanoa is food. That continues to be an enduring need to be met.
- Others need help in relocating their households and we will try to help with finding appropriate rentals, or perhaps some help in covering the initial security deposit.
- Some families have not received enough help to replace or repair broken or damaged household items and/or furnishings and the paychecks don’t stretch far enough to cover these additional and unanticipated expenses.
- We have heard that some have lost their livelihoods either permanently or temporarily. They come to us with requests for help with temporary bill payments and the like.
So here we are, invested in a long term disaster recovery strategy which will likely take months and even years to complete.
Since no two households are ever identical, all decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis after thorough review and taking into account the whole picture of an individual’s situation. We do not subscribe to a one-size-fits-all philosophy, we simply try to do what we can.
This Christmas, we celebrate the opportunity to serve in our humble way, with the Christ Child as our first love, and His Mother as our model of faith.
Merry Christmas to all of you and may you experience the abundant blessings of God.