Nottinghamshire’s clergy visit typhoon hit Philippines

The Revd Mark Adams, vicar of St John’s with St Mary’s Mansfield, the Revd Fi Shoulder, vicar of Selston with Westwood, and Revd Angela Fletcher, vicar of Warsop with Sookholme were part of 12-strong team to visit Tacloban in the Philippines.

Typhoon Hainan hit in November last year.

As part of The Streetlight Trust and as guests of the Manila based Kanlungan sa-Erma Ministry to Street Children, the clergy said the destruction caused was extraordinary.

Revd Mark said: “The sight of seeing huge ships deposited on top of people’s houses is one that I am still struggling to comprehend.

“The storm ripped through the city in a few hours, but it will take years to recover from.”

The team kept a blog during the visit, with updates from both the clergy and other members of the team.

Revd Fi added: “We drove into areas that have had no help.

“We drove for 90 minutes and all we could see were houses without their roofs.

“One community has had no electricity for three months and barely any torches or lanterns. No one has taken solar panels or a generator. They cluster around a few candles at night, so the children can’t study. But the optimism and humour is there and the people are a sheer delight.”

During the visit the team were able to visit two primary schools and give out much needed educational supplies, including nearly 300 school bags filled with pens, pencils, notebooks and a fan to help the children keep themselves cool.

The Streetlight Trust was founded in 2006 to provide financial and prayer support for Kanlungan’s work and has now taken over 100 people to see first-hand their extraordinary work.