A day before the actual distribution, we met Jasmine, 17, during our house-to-house assessment.
According to her, she was on the second floor of their house when the 7.3 earthquake struck. She thought that would be her last day alive. However, she was able to escape from the second floor and run to the nearest farm, an open area.
While we were interviewing her, she suddenly cried. It turns out she would be celebrating her birthday in three days.
Their plans for the celebration crumbled with the quake.
Still, Jasmine is thankful because her family is still complete and no one was injured.
Jay-Ar, one of the project coordinators on the ground together with his teammate visited Jasmine again an hour before the actual distribution. They brought her a cake a to remind her that despite the effects of the earthquake, she can still celebrate the life that the Lord has given her.
Jasmine and her family are still staying in a tent by the side of the road as their house is set for demolition already according to the engineers from their local government.
Let us continue to pray for the earthquake-affected families in Abra.
Philippine Relief and Development Services Inc. 