— photos by Christopher Johnson, all rights reserved —

It’s not easy to rebuild a city from almost zero. What Typhoon Yolanda destroyed in the early hours of Nov. 8 took years to build, and will take a long time to rebuild as well. It’s a colossal undertaking involving almost everybody in the Tacloban area. People are doing what they can: cleaning their homes, rebuilding roofs, removing or burning debris, guarding neighborhoods, driving tricycles, filling gas tanks, distributing supplies, even planting rice. It’s a long way back, but people are increasingly gaining hope that it can be done.