David Beckham’s diary reveals his thoughts on Yolanda

by Karmela Tordecilla

David Beckham visited Yolanda survivors on Valentine’s Day. (From UNICEF’s official Facebook Page / http://goo.gl/Ia7WeW)

Football superstar and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham recently shared the diary of his two-day visit to Tacloban and other Yolanda-hit areas.

Beckham flew to the Philippines last February to visit the survivors of the super typhoon.

“Nothing would’ve prepared me for the experience I had. The destruction was mind blowing, but it’s the resilience of the Filipinos I met that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” Beckham says in his diary.

 

 

He spent the first day of his trip distributing emergency supplies at UNICEF-sponsored sites. The next day, he visited a mass grave, a health center, and an elementary school with makeshift classrooms.

He said it was “lovely” to see the children still attending school despite the destruction caused by Haiyan.

Beckham and the children also played football on a field surrounded by rubble.

“It is like no game I’ve ever experienced with about 20 children on each side chasing the ball. Afterwards I look back on this and think it sums up the spirit of the Filipino people, who have endured such tragedy but are still full of fighting spirit, looking ahead to the future,” writes Beckham.

To read more of David Beckham’s Philippines UNICEF diary, click here.