Hope for the Unseen 

-a story from Habitat for Humanity Philippines

Heart-rending, heartwarming stories of how we can help our fellowmen. As we near the second anniversary of the twin disasters of 2013 – the Bohol earthquake in October and Super Typhoon Haiyan in November, here is a feel-good story of a blind man who lost his home in December 2014, and how his darkness has slowly turned into a growing light of hope. We hope this will inspire us to reach out and give more of ourselves to those who have less in life. This shall be the first of a series of stories from Habitat for Humanity Philippines.

Source: Hope for the Unseen

Life can be tough. It can lead you to a place where you have nothing to rely on but faith. In just the blink of an eye, everything could vanish. In the case of 73-year-old Wenifredo Moslares, an ill-fated event on Christmas Eve of 2010 changed his life. While planting rice, mud splashed into his eyes and infected them.

Suddenly, everything went dark: Wenifredo had lost his eyesight.

“Of all my body parts, why did it have to be my eyes?” It was the question Wenifredo — husband, father, college graduate and former mechanic — kept asking himself.

But that was not the end of it.

When Typhoon Ruby (international name: Hagupit) struck Eastern Samar in December 2014, Wenifredo and his wife, Adelina, were one of those who lost their homes.

With nowhere else to go, Adelina converted their pigpen into a temporary shelter so they could have a place to sleep. Due to Wenifredo’s disability, his wife had to install the nipa walls of the pigpen herself. “She cleaned everything out so the manure and stench would disappear.”

For eight months, the pigpen was their home. They endured that cramped space even at their advanced age, and Wenifredo’s condition. “Because I’m blind, I felt so helpless, I felt like the saddest person in the world. I couldn’t do anything but to place our situation in God’s hands,” he said.

But there was light after the darkness after all. After months of praying and hoping, Wenifredo and Adelina received a house repair kit from Habitat for Humanity Philippines, containing  plywood, GI sheets, coco lumber, paint, and other construction materials. Skilled laborers who partnered with Habitat Philippines helped the couple build their new home from the ground up.

The couple couldn’t be any happier: Adelina burst into tears of joy, Wenifredo couldn’t stop thanking Habitat. They didn’t need to spend the remainder of their lives in a pigpen anymore.

Their new home changed their lives again, but for the better.

“We are so happy. We’ll be able to sleep peacefully. I’ll finally be able to stretch my legs. I can stand up inside my house again, unlike in that pigpen where I’m just always seated or hunched over,” he exclaimed.

And despite his blindness, Wenifredo was able to envision how their new home looks like. For him, it isn’t just an ordinary wooden house. It’s their new castle, their new mansion… anything and everything a grand and beautiful house could be.

“I will always be thankful that there are people who were willing to help us. We wouldn’t have this new home if not for their good hearts.”

The Book of Hebrews describes faith as “the substance of the things we hope for, the evidence of things yet unseen.” Wenifredo may have been blind, but he understood that there was Hope because he saw through different eyes — through eyes of faith.

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Wenifredo and Adelina’s story is one of those stories that you can say that miracles do happen, not overnight, but when it is needed the most. Habitat for Humanity Philippines to this day continues to build homes where families are in dire need. Help us today and  , so that together we can build a better and brighter Philippines.