Girl survivor depicted in Sendong memorial still hopes to become a teacher someday

Sendong Memorial of a girl who survived the floods by riding on a log. PHOTO BY MERLYN MANOS

The girl who survived the devastation brought about by Typhoon Sendong, Analou Lapuerta, is the inspiration for a bronze sculpture of a girl on top of a trunk of tree.

The depiction is a strong symbol as it was believed that deforestation brought about by rampant illegal logging was the cause of the deluge in northern Mindanao.

Lapuerta, currently a Grade 9 student at Barangay Digkilaan in Iligan City, survived the devastating floods that affected the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan and numerous lives were lost.

She related that on the day the typhoon hit Iligan City she was with her six siblings and parents in their house along the road in Purok Lagi, Digkilaan. They could hear the gusty winds while they had dinner and before they went to bed.

At the height of the typhoon, they found their home suddenly flooded. The floodwaters quickly rose that they were forced to escape through the roof and with their father and four siblings latched onto a nearby coconut tree.

The tree, however, fell and the Lapuerta family were separated.

Analou, however, found a large log and she held onto it until daybreak.

In the morning, she met an old man holding on to a tire. He called out to her and told her to join because there was a snake on the log she was on.

She recalled seeing numerous logs in the area.

Analou remembered that she was traversing through floodwaters for some time until rescuers arrived. She was taken to the hospital for treatment.

After five days, she met a relative and learned that her parents and siblings are missing while an older sister has died.

She was a Grade 2 student at the time Typhoon Sendong hit northern Mindanao. She said she regularly received assistance from a Manila-base donor and another based in Iligan. But she still has to receive word about a scholarship that she applied for.

Analou, now 16 years old, has not lost hope as she still dreams of becoming a teacher someday. — Merlyn Manos/BAP, GMA News