Sisters miss going to school

Sisters Krisha,9, and Hanna, 6, wants to go back to their school already. The sisters, along with their parents and two older sisters, have been staying in a cramp evacuation center for a week now. The family live in the municipality of Laurel, Batangas, one of the hardest hit areas of Taal volcano eruption.

“I want to see my classmates,” Krisha said. Unlike her sister Hanna, Krisha has no classmate living in the same evacuation center.

The family left Laurel when a neighbor told them to evacuate because Taal volcano erupted. The sisters were with their parents while their two other sisters were already evacuated to safety by a relative.

“I was crying,” Hanna said. When asked why, she said, “I am scared.”

The family makes a living through fishing and gives the family an income of around P500 a week. Ash as thick as two feet has flattened their house to the ground. “Their uniforms cannot be used because they are already buried under the ash,” Jessie, 37, the girls’ father, said.

Taal volcano erupted last January 12, forcing more than 96,000 individuals, children, included to evacuate. The volcano, which has been the Philippine’s most visited tourist destination is still in Alert Level 4 which means it could erupt anytime soon.

Communities within the 14km danger zone are not yet allowed to go back. Check points manned by army and police personnel are stationed in key entrances to affected communities.

World Vision has recently distributed relief items that include hygiene kits and other materials such as mosquito net and sleeping mats to more than 1000 families residing in evacuation centers in Nasugbu, Batangas.

Mary Grace, 34, the sisters’ mother said that while they appreciate and grateful for the assistance they constantly receive, most of them want to go back to their own houses. “There’s nothing like home,” she said.

To support the affected children and their families, click this link–  DonateForTaal. You may also call World Vision at (02) 8372-7777 or (0917) 866-4824.