We Just “Thought” That Typhoons Never Hit Mindanao
Before December 4, 2012, it had been nearly half a century since a major storm had hit Mindanao and the Southern Philippines. In fact, major storms and typhoons in the southern-most part of the country are rare enough that many residents here believed the South to be “typhoon-proof” or simply blessed and protected.
Before Pablo struck, we had heard that the storm was approaching the Philippines. However, as with time after time before, we never imagined that the typhoon would affect us or our community directly. As a matter of fact, just hours before the storm started its tear through the Southern Philippines, many of our teachers and students had been engaged in discussing how indeed blessed we were to not have to worry about such calamities. Little did we know, though, that fate was about to give us all a very rude awakening.
During the early hours of December 4, Typhoon Bopha, aka as Pablo, made landfall and wreaked havoc in many parts of the Southern Philippines. And, unfortunately, CAN English was not spared. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the damage to buildings and homes on our campus is so extensive that we, in all likelihood, will never be able to rebuild and recover.
Too Much Damage, Too Few Resources
Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) was as thorough as it was savage. Not only was our beautiful CAN campus nearly 100% destroyed, but homes, schools, hospitals, churches, and businesses within 10 to 20km of our school were wiped out as well. Much worse than that, though, is the sheer horror of the ever-increasing number of storm-related deaths and injuries in our area. Given that, it’s little wonder that a very small college situated in a once-scenic corner of the coast doesn’t get much attention in the aftermath.
While the physical damage to CAN English College was devastating, we were truly fortunate that no one was killed or seriously injured. Yes, there were scrapes, bumps, and bruises, but those will heal. Nevertheless, the damage to buildings and homes on our campus was so severe that repairing and/or replacing those structures will cost a fortune. And, as you may already know, our small college does indeed have very limited resources.
Initial estimates for rebuilding put the costs well into the tens of millions of Pesos. And, quite frankly, CAN doesn’t have the funds to cover these costs. We have also been informed that due to the overwhelming need for funding for other things, (such as hospitals, food, medicine, temporary shelters, and security,) assistance or funding from the government will probably not be forthcoming.
We have reached out to alumni for help and support, and they have been wonderful about giving. However, the funds we have received up until now are all needed to take care of basic needs for resident students and on-site employees. We are doing our best to make sure they have the necessities for surviving during this trying time, and – despite everything – all seem to be in generally good spirits. Still, the lack of resources means that we won’t be able to rebuild and reopen the school (unless we receive a miracle.)
So, What’s Next for CAN?
Well, to be completely honest, we’re not sure. For now, our priority is helping our resident students and on-site employees find permanent accommodations and necessities such as food and clothing. We’re also valiantly trying to recover scattered and waterlogged records and documents. Very few student records and transcripts have been digitized or saved to computers, and even fewer have been saved or backed up offsite. So, as you can see; even if CAN doesn’t reopen for classes, we still have incredibly difficult tasks ahead of us.
We will attempt to update this site regularly with the latest news regarding our efforts. So, please check back often. In the meantime, we ask for your prayers. We need all the help we can get to restore some sense of normalcy for our students, faculty, and employees. Thank you for taking the time to view this post. Please share and help.
Update: February 2, 2013 – Well. it’s official; CAN has officially ceased all educational operations. The damage and associated estimated rebuilding costs were just too much for our small college to overcome. Now, we are focusing on helping students and employees relocate, as well as doing our best to ensure the recovery and safety of student records and transcripts (as much as possible.)
Update: April 20, 2013 – We are pleased to announce (despite everything that has happened) that we have successfully helped all current CAN students transfer to other institutions or make other educational arrangements. Additionally, we have finally been able to help all on-site employees relocate to more-permanent shelters and obtain employment.
Update: February 28, 2020 – We are sorry to inform you that the government has decided that the CAN .edu.ph domain authorization will expire within a month and cannot be renewed (due to CAN no longer being an active institution.) Therefore, we will be moving our site to a new domain soon. The new site will focus primarily on alumni communication, as well as networking to facilitate the restoration and reconstruction of lost or damaged student records and transcripts.