Yolanda Ancheta was completely unaware that her husband was facing the devastating Typhoon Haiyan while she was working as a caregiver in Malta.
“He left our home in coastal Philippines when the storm hit (on November 10) and went into the mountain region on foot.
“One night it was so dangerous he had to tie his tent to a tree to stop it from getting blown away. Our home was completely destroyed and our lives were ripped apart,” Ms Ancheta said, crying with grief.
She was one of 250 Filipinos who attended a fundraising event at St Martin’s College yesterday.
Her husband, however, was not Ms Ancheta’s only concern. Her sister, a diabetic, had been without medication for several days.
“There is no water or electricity. No food, no medicine and no shelter. There is only chaos and so many have died. All we can do is hope,” she said.
The brutal storm has claimed the lives of 3,600 people since it ravished the coastal regions of Western Philippines.
Some 12,500 were injured and nearly 2,000 are listed as missing.
Jennifer Aquino’s 12-year-old niece has been missing since the storm broke. Her school building collapsed, killing five after the first 48 hours of torrential downpour.
“I can’t sleep and I can’t eat. All I can do is worry about that little girl,” she said.
Ms Aquino has been living and working in Malta as a nanny for two years. But with no way of contacting her family, she is seriously considering leaving her hard-earned job and returning to the Philippines.
“I can’t just leave my family in this mess. But even if I go back, there is no certainty that I will find my loved ones,” she said.
In the crowded gymnasium, a Mass service was conducted by a young Filipino priest. Some prayed while others sobbed.
The laughter of children playing nearby provided a surreal backdrop to the overwhelming sense of grief and desolation among the congregation.
Mona Catipon, president of the Filipino Overseas Community of Workers in Malta, organised a walk and a volleyball game to help raise funds and also the spirits of the 1,000-strong local Filipino community.
Tacloban City, one of the Philippines’ most densely populated urban areas, was hit hardest by the storm.
Venus Agius, 35, who married a local and now resides permanently in Malta, once called the flattened city home and said scattered relief aid had not been enough to help those who had lost everything.
Pauline Goimbaolibat, from the Guiuan island region, which was first to be hit by the storm, said: “The islands have been completely washed out. I’ve seen reports on international media and pictures on social media of my old neighbourhood.
“Seeing your hometown completely destroyed is shocking, it really hurts.”