Love flows to flood-hit Tzu Chi village

Bowls of hot meals carried warmth, comfort and the message that no one is left alone in times of calamity.

TZU Chi volunteers bring food supplies for the hot meals of evacuees. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF TZU CHI FOUNDATION ORMOC

Published on:

05 Oct 2025, 15:03

The Tzu Chi Great Love Village (TCGLV) in Barangay Liloan, Ormoc City, Leyte is a symbol of survival and resilience from the deadly “Supertyphoon Yolanda” that devastated many parts of the Visayas region and killed thousands on 8 November 2013. The international humanitarian group Tzu Chi, founded by Taiwanese Buddhist nun Master Cheng Yen, together with local donors, volunteers and the disaster victims themselves build the community of “Yolanda” survivors.

After 12 years of rebuilding their lives, the villagers faced another disaster as “typhoon Opong” caused flooding that damaged their homes and belongings on the night of 25 September. But the spirit of compassion and love returned to the village as coast guards, police, firefighters and other rescuers safely evacuated TCGLV residents in Sitio San Roque the following day.

JAYSON Suco, senior Tzu Chi Youth Ormoc and former community head, camp leader and scholar of the international humanitarian organization, rescues a dog and other pets from flood that submerged the Tzu Chi Great Love Village in Barangay Liloan, Ormoc, Leyte at the height of ‘typhoon Opong’ on 25 September 2025. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF TCCYAO

The rescuers risked their own lives helping villagers cross the five-foot-high floodwater caused by the swelling of the Pagsangaan River.

Early on 26 September, nearly 80 Tzu Chi volunteers, including 45 scholars, brought food and water and prepared hot meals for the villagers sheltering at evacuation centers, including at the Tzu Chi Activity Hall and the Tzu Chi Market-Market area. They cooked arroz caldo in giant pots and served it to the hungry evacuees. Evacuee Rebecca Arcillas, 56, was thankful for the bowls of hot meals that carried warmth, comfort and the message that no one is left alone in times of calamity.

The Tacloban Delta Volunteer Fire Rescue provided a tanker to transport clean water for the villagers.

POWER is being restored to the village by a worker of Leyte V Electric Cooperative Inc. on 28 September. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF LVECI

Tzu Chi volunteers also distributed shirts to the evacuees who were unable to bring clothes during the rush to evacuate the TCGLV.

Opong’s floods left homes caked in mud, damaged appliances and scattered belongings of villagers. Tzu Chi volunteers helped the residents clean up their homes starting 27 September.

Other good Samaritans visited the village and distributed food and clothes. Workers of the Leyte V Electric Cooperative Inc. restored power to the community.

With the outpouring of compassion, love and support from their benefactors, TCGLV residents are hopeful of recovery from material loss just like how they survived previous disasters.

Latest Stories

No stories found.