The Orange City
“They passed us by!” the fisherman said as he reflected upon the countless relief workers that had come to bring help to the Philippines after Typhoon Yolanda.
Yes, if you were on the small island near Bantayan, Philippines, there was not a single relief worker or agency who stopped to give assistance. And yet, every house on the island had been damaged.
It’s not only that their houses were destroyed, their livelihoods also vanished. On this island the main industry was seaweed farming. But because of the travesty of Yolanda, all the farms were destroyed. It seemed there was no hope.
To make matters worse, the loss of their homes and income was complicated by the fact that no one owned their own land. In the midst of all of this hopelessness, the landowners decided not to allow any new construction on the island with the intention of kicking the people off the island.
There was only one thing left to do. CRF needed to create an Orange City. The people needed a city of hope. These people had been passed by too many times!
CRF tried to buy the island. The owners wouldn’t sell us the whole island, but we did get quite a bit of land. And we certainly got enough property to start making a huge difference. We hope to build homes for every single family on the island who lost their dwelling in the typhoon. Maybe we will even paint the houses orange — the color of hope!
We will also plant a church. And CRF will do what CRF does best — we will start a school with a children’s program. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could even start a community center?
Things are already moving in the right direction. A brand new coastal highway is now being built that will give access to our brand new community of hope.
Can you help bring hope? CRF has been bringing disaster relief to the Philippines in a big way.
Now it is time to rebuild.
Click here to help us build the Orange City!
