Mona Saroinsong – Humanitarian Hero

When Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, hit on November 8, 2014 Mona was in Indonesia and heard the news. She shared: “I was very much moved by what I heard was happening. I could imagine how difficult it was for people losing their houses, livelihoods and even some of their loved one because we experienced similar tragedy when the Tsunami hit Indonesia in 2004. When I see all the coconut trees that have been destroyed, which previously provided a source of income for thousands of families here, I get tears in my eyes. How will children now go to school and be assured of a better future than their parents if they cannot afford to go past high school education?”

As a single 56 year-old woman, Mona has readily taken on challenging roles and assignments with great passion for vulnerable people and tremendous skills in human development. During the disaster response to the tsunami of 2004, Mona led a team of local staff to distribute non-food items, to ensure psychosocial support, to reconstruct over a thousand houses and to provide essential training and tools for restoring livelihoods in fishing and agriculture. In another West Sumatra earthquake response project in 2011, she led a team again to put up over 870 permanent houses.

Once again in a typhoon Yolanda response, she leads a team of 45 Filipino staff to restore and rebuild houses, provide psychosocial support and enable families to regain their livelihoods. In my experience of over 25 years in international development, the most complex task of providing humanitarian assistance is to do it with a long-term community development approach. Mona is a master at this! I watch her as she talks about how she deliberately selects the right people. “I don’t care about the paper qualifications that a person has as much as their character and how they interact with people” she says. “If they just think the job is about handing out free things and sorting out logistics for that, I don’t hire them. I need people who can mentor and coach community people, starting with what the people know, teaching them and encouraging them to use the most of what they have to get back on their feet. I try to learn about their family and assess how they put their faith into practice because that tells me a lot about how they will behave in the community, whether they will make it dependent or facilitate empowerment. ”

When I talk to the staff the Mona hires, many of them talk about being stretched and gaining skills in areas they never dreamed. Under her leadership, pastors have become community organizers, recent university graduates have become livelihoods advisors and drivers have become psychosocial workers. Watching her in the community is an adventure. Recently, I witnessed her conversation with a 38 year old fisherman, Wendell Jadloc, in a community known as “Barangay 89” in Tacloban. He had received some of the initial non-food items from World Renew soon after the typhoon hit such as essential beddings, water, sanitation and kitchen utensils. “So was it good to receive these things or not so good? What did you find most helpful?” she asks Wendell.

He replies, “Yes, it was very good. The cooking pot was the most helpful thing for us so at least we could prepare our meals."

She continues, “So I understand you are in a fisherman’s group that is receiving some fishing tools like nets, rope and net sinkers because you already have a boat from another NGO so you don’t need one from us, right? So what is the name of your group, how many members does it have and what do you hope to gain or do with your group?”

Wendell responds, “Yes, I already have a boat. Our group is called ‘Tawaay La’ which means ‘smile’. We have fifteen members so far. My hope is that we can meet regularly to discuss our experiences, get materials and start a savings together.”

“And is the fishing good now that you have your boat and hope to get more supplies or not so good?” Mona questions.

“Actually, it is not quite so good yet. The typhoon has affected the amount of fish we can harvest. When I would fish for crab before the typhoon, I could catch between 4 to 5 kgs per day. But now, it seems I can only get 1 to 2 kgs per day” says Wendell.

“So why is that?” Mona asks.

“I don’t know but it seems it could be something to do with the bottom of the ocean being affected or the crabs not comfortable with the new depth of water. I am not sure” responds Wendell.

Mona replies, “Well, maybe we should find out, don’t you think, and see if something can be done about that.” She continues to explore with Wendell how much it costs him to fish for crab and how much he is able to get for selling it, discovering that he only makes about 5 pesos (about $1.25 US) per day. His family cannot live on that but he explains that his wife currently works on contract making nets.

“So what are your dreams and goals for your family? What do you think God would want different for them?” Mona asks.

“First, I want my children who are currently 12, 11 and 7 years old to all go to college so they can get good jobs. Then if we can save more money, I want to build a strong house for my family so they do not have to live in tents anymore,” replies Wendell.

“But how are you going to do that if you only get 5 pesos a day and what will happen once your wife’s contract ends. Do you have another idea of how to get some money, like another business you can do?”

“I am not really sure. I think I need to be guided with that because right now my children are young and I have to watch them while my wife is working. So, I don’t know what kind of job I can do to get money besides fishing,” answers Wendell.

“How about you discuss that with our livelihoods staff next time they meet with you, OK? I think they may have some ideas to share and maybe your fishing group could have as well.” Mona tries to encourage him even as he has come to realize his desire to do fishing the same way he always has and above any other thing needs to be reconsidered if he wants a better future for his family.

Changing lives through inquiry is what human development is all about. Mona is a bayani (hero) in the Philippines not because of her flashy style or speeches but because she mentors and coaches for long lasting change. We could all learn from her ability to do humanitarian work in a way that encourages long-term changes, not just giving money or stuff but facilitating learning for new perspectives and choices to be made for growth and development.

Blessings!