In these Yolanda-ravaged areas, each boat has a story
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
But in the case of fishermen who lost their boats and their livelihood to super typhoon Yolanda, more help is needed. They know how to fish but they don't have boats.
In some areas, men have ventured into the sea in old refrigerators or anything that floats, just so they could fish.
When asked about the help they need, most fishermen said they would give anything to get boats--and her comes the "Yellow Boat of Hope," a group that aims to restore hope among fishermen.
Funds used for the boats have come from all over the world, not really from the rich but from ordinary individuals who just want to help.
“Fisher folk are not comfortable with dole-outs,” said Anton Mari Lim, co-founder of the Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation.
“These are people who have long been supporting their families through the only means they know,” Lim said.
The Yellow Boat of Hope has enough funds to build 400 more boats but the group targets to build 1,000 this year. But Lim said their boats are not just given away.
“The fishermen have to do their part,” he noted.
Instead of sending boats that are ready to use, the Yellow Boat of Hope tries to give communities materials for boat-building.
This setup is convenient, Lim said, not only for the donors but also for the recipients, who can be assured of the boat’s quality.
“There is, after all, a reason why boats are designed differently,” Lim said. “The boats have to fit their needs.”
About 250 of the 300 boats they have so far provided were built by fisher folk and their neighbors in affected communities.
Boats have been sent to Tacloban City, Tanauan and other parts of Leyte as well as Guian and other parts of Samar.
“Each boat has its own story,” Lim said, as he thanked donors for sending funds and volunteers for organizing efforts.
“As soon as you give them the boats, fishermen know that their livelihood has been restored,” Lim said.
“But more than that, their sense of dignity is restored. They will not keep asking. They’re not incapacitated,” he added.
“Give a fisherman a boat and he can feed himself and his family. But if you let him build a boat, you restore hope,” Lim said.
