Matina Pangi Arroyo Compound Flash Flood Zone

Here is a short documentary of our family visiting one of the worst hit areas of Davao City where a flash flood wiped out the Arroyo Compound in Matina Pangi. In terms of death, with 32 people lost due to the floods, this was the worst natural disaster to hit Davao city in its history. Meeting fathers and husbands who had lost their wives, children and relatives, this proved to be a very harrowing experience. So much more work needs to be done and with the change in weather patterns, there is much unease in the village with regards to an emergency response initiative for future disasters.  This southern region of the Philippines has never experienced these types of weather patterns in its recent history and therefore very ill-prepared in terms of any pre-emptive or post disaster emergency response programs. As you can imagine, livelihoods have been lost and there is tremendous need for sustainable sources of income.

We were given access to the village through a local NGO Seeds of Dignity who are working together with local partners to find long-term sustainable solutions to areas with the greatest amount of needs.  We had the great privilege of meeting a young couple, Pastor Marshall and Jane Orian (and their 5 month old son Paul) who have taken the initiative to move into the Arroyo Compound to support the local community in the wake of this loss. They are a very inspiring couple who have dedicated their lives in support of the village community and are open to working in partnership with groups who have a like mind and heart to support the local villagers.  They run a weekly feeding program through their church every Friday and Saturday and work in partnership with Seeds of Dignity to run medical and dental clinics annually.  The couple are currently the designated disaster warning signal whereby if heavy rain comes, all the villagers gather at the local church below their home and wait on the pastors decision on whether to vacate the village – such a heavy responsibility on a young couple!

Videography – Matina Pangi Arroyo Compound Flash Flood

All the videos and clips on this documentary were taken using a go pro hd hero2 with a rode stereo video mic pro attached to it.  Some of the sounds that are not in stereo were taken directly with the gopro’s on board mic – which clearly isn’t as clear as the Rode – however when travelling, you don’t always have the time to load up everything quickly and so had to shoot quickly in order to capture the moments. All handheld of course as we were taken throughout the village.