WHEN it rained, Bobby Pahahay, 44 of Concepcion Iloilo would start to worry. Living in a makeshift house in a place prone to flooding, Pahahay would often have no choice but to evacuate his whole family when there was a typhoon.
 
Not anymore. Pahahay was one of the 200 home partners of the SM Cares Housing Village in Concepcion, Iloilo, a housing project spearheaded by retail giant SM Supermalls for the survivors of super typhoon Yolanda.
 
“Masayang masaya po ako kasi nabigyan kami ng pagkakaton na magkaroon ng ganitong klaseng bahay. Di gaya nung dati naming tinitirarahan na gawa lang sa light materials. Konting ulan, may leak agad. Di na kami kailangan manirahan sa putik.

Ngayon, semento na ang sahig ng aming bahay” (“I am very happy because we were given a chance to own this kind of house. This is unlike our previous house which was made of light materials. It leaked when it rained and even when there was strong wind, we leave house because it was not stable. We also don’t have to live on mud when it rains. We now have cement floor.”) Pahahay said.
 
Pahahay and his family also survived Yolanda two years ago but the tragedy is still fresh in his mind. “Iyon ang pinakamalalang experience ko. Nawala lahat sa amin, pati ang gaming bahay. Akala naming mamamatay na kami.” (“It was the worst experience of my life. We lost everything including our house. We thought we were going to die but it seems we still have a mission.”) he said.
 
The housing project in Iloilo is the second SM Cares Village to be inaugurated and turned over to their new owners. The first village is in Bogo, Cebu where 200 families were also recipients of the new houses. The first village was inaugurated last year.