Kapamilya Shower Na!

"Kapamilya Shower Na!" literally means, "My family, get a shower!" It may sound rather drastic and rude if written that way and read for the first time by someone who is not privy to the happenings in the Philippines.

The term "Kapamilya" is a Filipino word but was popularized by ABS-CBN, a local TV network. Anyone belonging to the network is called a Kapamilya.

Anyway, recently, the Philippines was ravaged by two very strong typhoons that came into the country successively-about a week apart. Typhoon Ondoy alone was more than Hurricane Katrina in the United States a couple of years ago. Then came Typhoon Pepeng, which finished off what Ondoy left. A great part of the Luzon area was submerged and destroyed by the flooded waters and mud. Many people, animals and crops died. Billions of pesos in damage was estimated.

All over the country and the world, the call for help was beaconed and good hearted people who are able extended their help, whether in cash, kind, or effort.

One of those in the forefront in raising funds for the victims was ABS-CBN in an effort called Sagip Kapamilya (Save our family). Thousands of families benefited from their relief operations that included mostly food and medical supplies.

But the radio station of ABS-CBN, DZMM, had a different call. One of its anchors, Ted Failon, thought about providing portalets to evacuation centers because he thought that poor sanitation would be the source of more problems if not addressed. He called for help among his listeners and raised about P1.4 million in two days, he said in a television interview.

He said that he computed the rent of 40 portalets for a month and they cost P400,000. Not contented with this figure because he thought they were exorbitant, he found a way to provide for the grooming and cleanliness needs of the people in evacuation centers. They thought of a mobile shower room for the evacuees.

They got a used container van from shipping line and converted it into a shower room good for 12 people-6 showers for men and 6 for women. They also bought a truck and mounted the shower rooms for a mobile bath house. They contacted a private company that provided bath essentials like soap, shampoo, and deodorant, among others. Another group also donated good quality towels.

Professional architects worked on the project for 4 ½ days in order to speed up the making of the mobile shower. Failon said that they thought of this because after the situations, the mobile bath house will become the ownership of ABS-CBN Foundation and may be re-used in the future. That is forward thinking.

For some, this effort may seem unnecessary, as food will still be the most important need in this time when people are suffering from the aftermath of a twin calamity. However, I think that taking a bath is one of the things that can lift the spirits of the people and give them hope. It may not be as essential as having food and clean drinking water, but being able to take a bath nourishes the spirit. The results may not be quantitative, but it is definitely qualitative in the lives of the evacuees.

Thankfully, a private entity did this. For the government to think of this, they would need probably weeks or months of brainstorming and so much red tape. In the end, the people will get haphazard work that will no longer be used anyway because the people have already picked up whatever is left of their lives and moved on.

Kudos, Mr. Failon! That is usin' the old noggin'!