Philippines Fire

Sixteen people have been killed in a fire in a town in the central Philippines.

Eyewitnesses say the fire started in the early hours of the morning in a two-storey boarding house in Bacolod City.

It then spread to a shanty area nearby where at least 46 homes were destroyed.

Police say the fire may have been caused by a candle lit by one of the residents to honour the dead on All Souls’ day.

The fire started after midnight and rapidly spread because of strong winds, gutting the slum community, Fire Marshal Pamela Candido said.

Several people leapt from windows at the height of the fire but others failed to wake up in time to save themselves, he said.

“Some mothers perished with their children,” Mr Candido told the Associated Press news agency. “It was really tragic.”

The building where the fire started housed impoverished families, including men and women who worked as vendors in a nearby public market, officials said.

Relatives have identified all the dead, who were placed in black bags and lined up side by side in a clearing near the still-smouldering slum.

An investigation was under way to determine the cause of the fire that started on the ground floor.

Information from www.bbc.co.uk

Typhoon Mirinae hits Philippines

Information from www.bbc.co.uk

Helga Mosey Children’s Home Improvements

The following report is from Mark Ritchie in Sefton Village, Philippines.

Over the last few months our workmen have been hard at work in our Children’s Home. We have two kids and two adults in our house … and we know how much punishment a house can take with four living here. But can you imagine a house that has around 15- 22 kids living there with 8-10 adults … for 13 years!!!

At the beginning of 2009 things were pretty bad. The vinyl tiles were coming up, the cupboards were falling apart, all the screens on the windows had huge holes in them, the toilets were all blocked – bar one, the paint was all faded, the play equipment outside was falling apart and ugly, curtains all torn … etc. etc. I think you get the message. It all came to a head when we were showing an American Missionary couple around the home … and we felt more than a little embarrassed!

Yup, it was time for a makeover … big time! By faith, I asked Jonathan, Matthew and Marilyn to make an estimate of everything we need to do. Everything. We have been struggling so much with the finances in the last year that it was impossible to budget for anything like this. 

We prayed and I felt we should first contact the Helga Mosey Trust, headed by Pastor John Mosey (Helga’s father). I only wanted to make them aware of the condition of the Home and that we wanted to start raising money for a face lift … that same day they contacted me to say they would pay for everything. It was a tearful moment. Couldn’t believe it.

We started in September and for around a month all the kids were squashed together in a few rooms and the Nursery had to stay in the Guest house (not that they complained!!) … a challenging time. But not a complaint. Because what was happening inside the Home was fantastic. You can endure a little bit of hardship when you know there is a whole lot of blessing ahead!

Finally, we finished the face lift. Matthew has dome a great job with the guys. There is new ceramic tiles in the Living area, kitchen and workers rooms. The whole place has been repainted – the kids and aunties chose the colours. All new mosquito screen on the windows. New kitchen units and lovely black marble worktop. New curtains in every room and new soft furnishings throughout. All the toilets were unblocked (from teddies, toys, books, cutlery – you name it!!) and new toilets put in. All the kids room have vinyl laminate flooring. The whole outside of the building has been repainted, including windows and roof. We have a new wiring and electrical system. The swings and playground equipment are repaired and repainted. Amazing. Talk about a transformation!

Typhoon Mirinae heads towards Philippines

The Philippines is bracing itself for further devastation as another typhoon approaches.

Typhoon Mirinae, a dangerous category three storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, is due to strike the main island of Luzon on Friday.Currently packing sustained winds of 104mph (167km/h) with gusts to 127mph (204km/h), forecasters predict the typhoon is at maximum strength.

Typhoon Mirinae will weaken over land, before emerging in the South China Sea, re-intensifying and tracking towards Vietnam.

Around twenty tropical cyclones hit the Philippines every year. In the last six weeks, two tropical storms, Ketsana and Parma, have caused widespread flooding and claimed over 900 lives. As Typhoon Mirinae looms, nearly 1.5 million people are still living in flooded districts and around 163,000 are homeless.

Information from www.bbc.co.uk

Typhoon in the Philippines