WHEN you think of typhoons, you often think of death and destruction. But amid these unwanted consequences, some people find good things from these sad events.

In September 2006, typhoon Milenyo hit Southern Luzon and brought down hundreds of trees at the University of the Philippines Los Baños campus.

Dr. Fernando Sanchez, assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development, UPLB, said that the typhoon uprooted decades-old trees.

“Before the typhoon Milenyo happened, it was a dream to have a wooden Belen in the campus,” Sanchez added.

Eventually, they decided to collect the dead acacia and turned them into material for a life-sized Belen.

Ifugao sculptors were hired to carve the 18-piece characters in the manger for four months.

Sanchez said the Belen is now a symbol of peace, prosperity and happiness not only for UP but for the country.

Every night, students and residents visit the Belen to take pictures.

Amid the destruction typhoon Milenyo brought, folks at UPLB found inspiration.