Typhoon Vamco, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ulysses, hit Manila on November 11, 2020. It was a powerful and deadly Category 4-equivalent typhoon that caused the worst flooding in Metro Manila in 10 years. Sixty-nine people died, tens of thousands of families lost their homes in the raging floods, and some people are still waiting for rescue.

The river had swollen into a sea, according to a resident in Cagayan province, north of Metro Manila. The huge Magat Dam had been opened to avoid its bursting. Ulysses (Vamco) ran at a catastrophic 150 km an hour. Cagayan has been placed under a state of calamity due to some of the worst floods in the province’s history.

After driving for nine hours through mud and debris, BodyTalk Outreacher Remar Soliza (pictured in the red T-shirt) and a small team of BodyTalk Access technicians immediately attended to the healing of flood evacuees in Cagayan. Many evacuees had lost their homes and properties and had only their shirts with them. In between BodyTalk sessions, Mr. Soliza gave instructions to evacuees on how to perform the do-it-yourself Cortices Technique for de-stressing.

Remar said “We brought packed food and water and vitamins for children. People expected medicine because they were sick and exhausted from waiting in the flood waters. But they welcomed us warmly and appreciated the BodyTalk sessions.”

The BodyTalk matrix in Manila did their part to support Mr. Soliza and his crew remotely, so they could maintain the energy and focus to treat hundreds of shocked and displaced people throughout the day. The Manila matrix performed BodyTalk Access for the Outreachers at 5:00 pm that day, as they do every day at 5 o’clock. Additionally, a dedicated community of young boys and girls on a farm in Penaranda, Nueva Ecija—who had been trained by Outreacher Gemma Bunag—performed the BodyTalk Cortices technique for them. Despite the distance, all hands were on deck!

Story submitted by Marilen Abesamis

Update: At the end of November 2020, two weeks after the devastating typhoon, it was the first time that survivors in Rizal province were reached by a relief-bearing group. BodyTalk Outreacher Remar Soliza and volunteers drove through dry river beds and muddy roads to provide care to these stranded victims of Super Typhoon Ulysses, three hours east of Metro Manila. The BodyTalk Access team promised a follow up before Christmas, when people are more settled.

Additionally, Soliza and other volunteers went to the farming town of Real, Quezon, four hours’ drive south of Manila to share the BodyTalk Cortices technique with 64 women and men. The town of Real sits at the foot of the Sierra Madre mountain, a thickly forested place that has suffered from denudation and heavy quarrying. More Outreach missions are planned to support communities impacted by climate change. BodyTalk Access training workshops have been warmly welcomed by people who have no access to hospitals or quality healthcare in the Philippines. Children are often very fast learners of the BodyTalk techniques and end up being wonderful resources for the elderly in their homes, bringing them new healthcare strategies and ideas.