MANILA, Philippines—How can lipstick be an important item in the relief package for survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda”?

 

It is for schoolteachers for whom the simple act of wearing lipstick is a way of reassuring their traumatized pupils that things are starting to return to normal, said Education Secretary Armin Luistro.

 

Less than a fortnight after Yolanda left much of the Eastern Visayas in ruins, Luistro urged school officials and teachers to resume classes as soon as possible in the best makeshift structures that their communities could come up with.

 

Resuming classes after a disaster becomes imperative because schools serve as a second home to children, he insisted.

 

Teachers are not expected to resume formal lessons immediately, but should just leave the students to interact with their peers and share their traumatic experiences, he said.

 

School’s still here

 

“Having a makeshift classroom is a way of telling children that the school is still here, that their teacher is still there and she even has lipstick on,” Luistro said.

 

A teacher himself, Luistro said the importance of lipstick was one of the two things he learned about the Filipino way of coping with disasters.

 

At the Leyte National High School in Tacloban City where the Department of Education has set up an operations center, Luistro’s attention was caught by a teacher who reported for work wearing lipstick.

 

Luistro said he complimented the teacher and was surprised by the reply.

 

“Sir, this is important because when we face our students well-groomed, wearing lipstick, they know that we are ready for class,” Luistro quoted the teacher as saying.

 

Signs of recovery

 

In disaster areas, Luistro surmised, when the women start to give attention to their appearance and take time to do their hair and put on makeup, they are on the way to recovery.

 

Among the men, Luistro observed, a sign of recovery is when they start to play basketball.

 

He observed that while the Leyte National High School lay in ruins engulfed by the stench of uncollected corpses in the streets, “the first thing they cleared was the basketball court.”

 

“Once they start playing basketball, they are on the road to recovery,” Luistro said.

 

Basketballs too

 

“So we welcome donations of lipstick and foundation for teachers and basketballs, they are important in the recovery of those affected,” Luistro said, half in jest.

 

He said the department’s field staff are still checking on the status of the 34,104 DepEd personnel in the typhoon-affected areas.