Tools from the city help rebuild buildings, lives

More than a year after typhoon Yolanda struck the Philippines in November 2013, Filipinos in the cities of Tacloban and Cebu City are still rebuilding their lives and repairing their homes.

The deadliest typhoon in Philippine history killed at least 6,300 people and wiped out homes and buildings.

But putting their lives back together got a little easier with the help of part-time Chula Vista resident Manny Ramirez, who upon hearing about the typhoon started a used tool drive to help the Filipinos reconstruct their homes and schools.

“I didn’t have any money to give, so I thought of sending something that would be reused and is not too expensive to give out,” he said.

“And I thought that since most homes (in the Philippines) are built with light materials, if some locality is hit by a strong typhoon, those homes will be damaged or destroyed. So I thought sending tools would be better rather than just sending food or money.”

Ramirez started his used tool drive in the weeks after the typhoon and ended it about four months later. He said he was able to fill up and ship out 16 large boxes full of tools.

He said he spent hundreds of dollars of his own money purchasing tools, duffle bags and how-to books and pay for shipping costs. All 16 boxes took about 65 days to arrive to the Philippines, Ramirez said.

Once the boxes arrived, Ramirez said he was surprised to learn that the Rotary Club of Cebu donated a van to transport the tools from one area of the destruction to another.

He said the tools are a resource that could be used over and over again because the Philippines are visited by at least 20 typhoons a year.

He said Tacloban is about 60 percent repaired from typhoon Yolanda.

He also said having actual tools will help build sturdier buildings. He said a lot of tools in the Philippines are makeshift tools and, as a result, a structure isn’t built strong enough for a typhoon.

“The ones that got hit (with typhoon Yolanda) are the ones that are the most poor,” he said.

Ramirez said the challenge with the tools is that many Filipinos do not know how to use them, so he bought how-to books for them to follow.

He said homes needed to be rebuilt while several schools needed minor repairs such as the replacement of a roof or a door.

Ramirez said the tools go a long way in helping Filipinos recover.

“Filipinos are known for their resiliency,” he said.