Super typhoon Haiyan’s storm surge dawned upon Shirly’s house in Eastern Samar’s Maliwaliw island. The sea is a large part of Shirly’s livelihood since fishing was a main source of her family’s income. It was however, a dreadful day as the sea spawned a storm surge that swept across the island, leaving destruction in its wake. Shirly was in Laguna when the storm hit her home in Maliwaliw, and she couldn’t help but worry for her kids. Thankfully, her children survived the storm’s onslaught, but nothing was left of their home.

Eleven years passed, and fishing as a livelihood has become harder for Shirley and her family with catch being harder to come by. They tried to turn to farming but also faced problems with extreme heat killing the crops, and flooding during the wet season. Shirly’s son, Cedric used to have dreams of being a fisherman in the future, but with corals being destroyed and mangroves dying, that dream may be difficult to turn into a reality.