HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The spirit of inafa’maolek was strong in the village of Dededo, where residents came together Friday to help their neighbors recover from Typhoon Mawar.
A Donation Drive and Free Store event was held in which members of the community donated items that could benefit others in need, and as quickly as the donations came in, they went out to families who were lined up for help.
“It’s a good thing, it’s a positive thing, because these people are volunteering – they’re not being paid. And you can tell it’s sincere they want to help people. It’s free – nothing in return – and it helps a lot of people from all sorts, middle or lower class, if you need anything,” said Dededo resident Megan Carrera.
Carrera and her partner Nathan Guerrero, who have two young sons and another baby on the way, stopped by the event hoping to find clothes for their children.
“We are in need of clothes, so we are trying our best to find kids clothes,” Carrera said. “Mostly boys, because we have all boys.”
“Most of the clothes got moldy,” Guerrero added.
Carrera noted that because there’s no power, they had to get rid of a lot of their clothes following the storm.
The family was grateful that the Dededo community came together to help one another.
“I am happy to see that, because this is my home,” Carrera said. “These people are coming out and working together to help (the) community. There’s plenty people here that need help, probably they need more help than we do.”
The event began at 7 a.m. and ended at 7 p.m., but according to Dottie Flores, who organized the event for both donations and pickup, people were already there waiting before she arrived to set up.
“I just took as much stuff from my house as I could, that we didn’t need, that my kids didn’t need. Just dry, clean items. People were waiting when I drove up. It was so rewarding to me, I was taken back,” she said.
The event had a donation drive component and a free store set up along Wusstig Road.
“It’s just an idea that I had while I am off and it was raining for days,” Flores said. “So I was feeling like I was wet and moist and uncomfortable, and started to think about people around because I had dry stuff and I figured people need dry things, too; people are uncomfortable, too. So while they wait – there’s no aid right now, so while they wait they can come and get dry clothes to go to work, survive.”
‘I am hoping that this inspires other villages’
She said the event was a success as people rolled in with donations of clothing, bedding, shoes, cookware and other items.
“It makes me feel great. I am hoping that this inspires other villages to do the same. We all have a bunch of stuff. People, if they are fortunate enough to have a home over their head and have extra stuff in their house that’s dry that they don’t need, why not give it away to people that need it? At least for now, until (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) comes and helps, and until all these other organizations are able to come out to the people,” Flores said.
As they arrived throughout the day, the items were placed on tables that people were able to sift through and take home for free. Flores said it was all about lending a helping hand.
“These guys don’t have gas, they don’t have rides, so they can walk this way. I’ve seen them at the store struggling. I hope everybody does it,” she said.
Tables were empty about an hour after the event began, but not for long as more residents came with donations, adding clothes, bedding, hygiene products and other household goods to the tables.
“They were filled and as people come and donate, everyone is waiting and we are trying to spread them out,” she said. “This is God’s plan, God’s will. It’s just donations from people. It’s just the kindness of people.”
Ahead of the event, Flores used social media to spread the word and get people to donate. Seeing the turnout of both donations and families who walked away with much-needed items was reassuring to Flores, that people were willing to step up and help others.
“It makes me feel so good that people have a heart. Because we are all saying it, the government is not providing, the government is taking so long. But what are people doing? Everyone is just sitting and complaining. Let’s make a positive change, and I have a day off today and so I am going to do it. It just took one bit of effort. This is not my work, really, this is the community’s work. I just wanted to be available and wanted people to know,” she said.
‘We just wanted to help everyone else’
Danielle Apilado was one of many Dededo residents who had heard about the event and decided to support.
“I just wanted to help because I know there’s a lot of people who lost their homes, who don’t have food and water,” she said. “So we just grabbed whatever we could to donate to bring it over to help others in need.”
They brought kids clothes, shoes, blankets and anything else they found around their house that they thought others might need following the storm.
“We just wanted to help everyone else because we were fortunate not to have too many damages. So whatever we knew we didn’t need we said, OK, we will just give it to someone else to use it,” Apilado said.
She was happy to contribute knowing that a little bit of help goes a long way.
“It makes me feel better knowing that we are able to help, especially people who have little kids that need Pampers, wipes, clothes, and especially if their houses got blown away by the typhoon,” she said. “We’re able to help them start off fresh.”
Residents of Dededo helped those in need through a Donation Drive and Free Store event Friday, June 2, 2023, along Wusstig Road.
