DARAGA, Albay -- Supertyphoon “Reming” may have destroyed houses and taken lives. But it also tore down the walls between families and members of the community in Barangay Pag-asa here.

At the Mirabueno house, for instance, 17 families from nearby villages were sheltered during and after the onslaught of Reming, which struck Albay exactly a year ago on Nov. 30.

But then again, for the Mirabuenos, taking in strangers in need is nothing out of the ordinary.

The two-story house is also the site of the Jardin de Eden Academy, a preschool for the underprivileged, offering nursery, kinder and prep education for free.

“We cater to the poorest of the poor. Our students come from the slums, market sites, dumps and homes along the railroads,” said Eden Mirabueno, 63, the school’s founder and director.

Mirabueno, who takes her motto from Mother Teresa’s “Give until it hurts with love, until you feel the pain,” said Reming made her marvel at the fathomless ways of God.

“Folks asked, why did God allow this calamity to happen? If he is a merciful and loving God, why did he allow people who are faithful to him to die? There are no answers,” she said.

All she knows is that in a weird way, Reming gave Albay some unexpected blessings.

Mirabueno cited the family of Jason who lived in a house made of galvanized iron and cardboard boxes. When Reming struck, the house was carried away by floodwaters. Now the family lives at the relocation site in Anislag, a barrio of Daraga, with a modest house and lot given by the government.

More schools

A retired education district supervisor for Daraga, Mirabueno said she was very happy to see that 90 percent of the newly constructed schools buildings in Albay were funded with money from here and abroad.

If it had not been for Reming, it would have taken years to repair and build new schools, since funds were limited and not available, she said.

Visiting a concrete house, she learned that its repair and renovation came from a balikbayan brother.

“Typhoon Reming is really some Albayanos’ biggest blessing. So many tourists are coming, contributing to the economy of Legazpi and the municipalities of Cagsawa, where the typhoon destroyed houses and recreation areas but not the ruins of the church in the eruption of Mayon in 1816,” she said.

Mirabueno said most of those who took shelter in the school at the height of Reming were the families of the students of Jardin de Eden Academy.

“We just shared resources. The families pooled their relief rations, cooked out in the garden then ate together. It was like a feast,” she said.

With no light and water for almost three months, neighbor shared their food resources, distributing plates of pansit, vegetables and adobo. It was easy enough to reach out for help since fences and walls had come crashing down.

A neighbor who owned a generator shared electricity with neighboring houses. At the Daraga Municipal Plaza, tanks of water were made available for free to all. A big television screen in front of the Daraga Municipal Hall entertained viewers in the evening.

At the hilltop church of Our Lady of the Gate, the parish priest and Social Action director and staff distributed food and household items to more than 9,000 families for 10 months. The rich and the poor were united in their effort to help the victims of the typhoon. Donations have not stopped coming.

Lily Mujar, a nursery teacher at the academy, related how Reming brought together family members and neighbors.

Mujar and her three children live in a small compound along with her three siblings and their families. Although they live in adjacent apartments and get along just fine, Mujar said she and her siblings were not particularly close.

“We focus on our own families,” she said.

Letting go of pride

Last year, a rift developed between her youngest sister and older brother. The two stopped speaking to each other because of a disagreement over a family property.

At the height of Reming, the older brother relented. When his youngest sister’s apartment was swamped with flood waters, he promptly came to her aid and helped her family to evacuate.

In the aftermath of the typhoon, the siblings and their then ailing mother also got together to clean up the compound. They pooled their funds to replace roofs that had been blown away.

Mujar’s family also readily shared their resources with their neighbors in the aftermath of Reming.

“Because their water supply was cut, our neighbors went to our compound to take a bath and wash their clothes,” she said.

She also recalled how two families from neighboring Barangay Bañag sought shelter at their compound when Reming struck.

Students drop out

Mirabueno started the academy in June 2006. The school initially registered 51 enrollees, but around half of the student population dropped out in the aftermath of Reming.

The houses of some students were completely swept away by floods triggered by the typhoon.

“Some of our pupils’ families had to be relocated to far-flung resettlement areas. Most of them couldn’t afford to pay the transportation fare everyday, so they never came back to school,” said Mujar.

Around 31 pupils are currently enrolled in the academy, aged three to five years old, from different villages.

The academy holds two batches of two-hour classes every weekday afternoon, with the curriculum following that prescribed by the Department of Education.

God-, family-centered

In all subjects, Mirabueno makes sure that the lessons are God-centered and family-oriented.

Two of Mirabueno’s six children also teach at the academy, with a 22-year-old son acting as the volunteer principal and computer teacher, and a 29-year-old daughter serving as the music teacher.

The Jardin de Eden Academy is funded from the family’s own savings and the little that the parents of the pupils can give, as well as pledges from government officials and businessmen.

P1,500 per child per year

Mirabueno said the school can survive on an annual allocation of P1,500 per child, but admitted that since donations came irregularly, they often experienced shortages of food and school supplies.