![\"Walden](\"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/from-the-shelter-pix.jpg\")
<\/a>The CNMI Public School System has opened its campuses for use as shelters, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs has made available two of its centers for shelters, and the American Red Cross-NMI Chapter has been distributing food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner but it seems these still aren\u2019t enough. Many lack cots, beddings, blankets, containers for water, and access to transportation.<\/p>\n
Connie Lizama, 53, her husband, Vicente, 55, and their two grandchildren had sought shelter at Kagman High School during the typhoon. Yesterday, they tried to seek shelter at the Kagman Community Center because even though the Federal Emergency Management Agency and American Red Cross-NMI Chapter had provided them tents and kits, they still need a shelter that has power and water because they are both sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am disabled, my husband is disabled. I use oxygen at night. He goes to dialysis on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Now that I have gone back to my house because the shelter is closed at KHS, we still need to find a shelter for power and water,\u201d Lizama said.<\/p>\n
Lizama said she is thankful for all the help that she received but pointed out that it took them a week to receive help and it was only assistance to move back to their house with their tents.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt KHS we waited for anybody to come and help us but it seems like nobody came to help us. Now, it\u2019s a little late for that. We applied for FEMA and ARC but we need help now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said among the government agencies that responded to them with some sense of urgency was the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can stay at the hospital for my oxygen but I can\u2019t stay there by myself because I have two grandchildren and nobody would be with me. So I need a shelter that would have all of us together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management informed Lizama she could call the Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority to give her husband a ride for his dialysis appointment, but she said they still need a place that has power and water.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t stay at our home. The roof was blown away, my kitchen is gone, and everything is wet,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Another victim who stayed at Garapan Elementary School last week is also on dialysis. He declined to be identified but said he lost everything. He lives in Oleai.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur family has a compound and we lost everything there. We stayed at GES but still we hadn\u2019t had any help. We applied for FEMA and ARC. We even lined up at ARC only to register and not knowing that we were there only for registration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Another victim, Walden Beri, 63, who currently stays at the Office on Aging in China Town with his wife, Violeta Lapuz, 55, their son Kalvin, 14, and daughter Kathleen, 23, said they lost everything to Soudelor.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one told us it was going to be strong so we stayed home\u2026we lost everything. We only have our passports. \u2026We lost our clothes, shoes, bags, appliances, instrument, and furniture,\u201d Beri, a longtime musician on Saipan, said.<\/p>\n
Beri and his family were forced to flee their home in the middle of the typhoon, running for their lives to the church in San Vicente. After the storm, they were rescued and brought to San Vicente Elementary School.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t receive help for a long time when we stayed at the shelter. ARC provided food and the shelter helped us but only CHCC came\u2026I am medically referred patient but it was cancelled and I still need help but Medical Referral Office already told us that it would be scheduled for another time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Beri, Lapuz, and their children now stay at the Aging on Office. They sleep on cardboard boxes labeled \u201cshrimp flavored crackers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe applied for FEMA already\u2026But if we at least receive help we\u2019d like to request for bed, futon, blankets, pillows, and healthier food because our family has a medical issue\u2014high blood pressure,\u201d Beri said.<\/p>\n
Beri said he was grateful that during his stay at SVES, Rep. Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan), the Lion\u2019s Club, and several individuals came to visit them and gave assistance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe help was good but it was late, we still need help and we are still waiting,\u201d Beri said.<\/p>\n
In the typhoon\u2019s aftermath, U.S. Marines and sailors have been hard at work handing out relief assistance at designated points on the island. However, most shelter victims said they had to drive or walk to the locations that provide the needed food and water.<\/p>\n
For those who have lost their homes and are staying in shelters, there is a strong perception that they\u2019ve been pretty much left to fend for themselves. This seems to be consensus among majority of the shelter victims\u2014either those prior to the storm hitting and those that were rescued.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one came to our aid,\u201d they would say.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the help?\u201d was the familiar refrain.<\/p>\n
Over 400 victims currently stay in shelters in Tanapag, Garapan, Kagman, San Vicente, China Town, and Koblerville. As of yesterday afternoon, there were 57 typhoon victims at the Kagman Community Center and 104 at the Office on Aging.<\/p>\n
DCCA is currently in charge of taking care of those still staying at the shelters, some 10 days after Typhoon Soudelor laid waste to the island.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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