Residents lead effort to help Cobb housekeeper

When Charina Brooks, a housekeeper on the fourth floor of Cobb Residence Hall, awoke around 2 a.m. on Sept. 26, she knew instantly something was wrong.

She logged in to her computer in an attempt to lull herself back to sleep and learned that a typhoon had flooded the area in the Philippines where her family lives.

She returned to work the following Monday, and students noticed she wasn’t her normal, smiling self.

“I tried to be strong, but it was hard. I would come to work, but my mind would be somewhere else,” Brooks said.

The residents, many of whom said they consider her a part of the Cobb family, immediately stepped in to help.

For the past three weeks, they have been working to raise money for Brooks’ family.

Sophomore Caitlin Williams, one of the residents leading the effort, said Cobb residents have only raised about $20 so far, but they are working to raise more and are accepting donations from outside the dormitory.

“Charina is very sweet, and she’s done so much for us. I thought we should show some gratitude and give something back,” Williams said. “Everyone there needs help, but when you can put a face to the situation, it becomes something that’s affecting our community.”

Four typhoons have made landfall in the Philippines in since late September. Typhoon Ketsana submerged almost 80 percent the country’s capital, Manila, and surrounding towns when it made landfall Sept. 26.

Brooks said she immediately tried calling her parents and other relatives in the Cainta Rizal province, but the line was dead.

“I was really torn up. I didn’t know where they were or if they had food,” Brooks said.

Though she received a short e-mail that her family was safe, Brooks said she had to wait three days to talk to them on the phone. The family moved in with neighbors since the house was underwater.

Now, more than a month later, Brooks said the water has receded and her family is trying to rebuild their home, but she added that the fear is still there.

“My mom said she gets worried when the sky is dark, and that children at school start crying and ask to go home,” she said.

Brooks added it’s hard being away from them, but she loves her job and taking care of the fourth floor’s residents. She has worked at UNC for less than a year. She has lived in the United States for the past six years with her husband and daughter.

“I think it helps when you enjoy what you do because it shows,” Brooks said. “I really love my girls, and I try to make them at home. It’s the least I can do.”

If the heartfelt thank-you notes covering her door are any indication, Brooks succeeds at creating that family feeling.

“It’s like having a mom away from home,” resident Molly Matthews said. “She’s more than our housekeeper. She’s like family, and you don’t hesitate to help family.”



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.