Making Waves
Philadelphia, PA
2023, Senior, Performing Arts
Climate Hero: Joanna Sustento, Greenpeace; LIVERary: Living Books and Readers
[Verse 1]
She watched as the waters
Came up and
Swallowed her home
Pretty soon
The typhoon
Drowned 6,000
Dreams and hopes
[Pre-chorus]
Swimming in an endless tide
Joanna kept her head up high
[Chorus]
Now she fights for the waters
And learns to forgive
All of the damage they did
Last of her family, isn’t she brave?
By saving the sea
She’s making waves
[Verse 2]
She protests the grotesque
Effects of
The damage we’ve done
Fossil fuels and arctic pools
She joins with Greenpeace until peace is won
[Pre-chorus]
Swimming in an endless tide
“Kalikasan ay ingatan,” (protect/take care of nature in Tagalog) she cries
[Chorus]
Now she fights for survivors
Helps them to give
Stories of how they all lived
Last of their family, aren’t they brave?
Through her Human Library
She’s making waves
[Bridge]
Save our seas please hear our pleas
Save our seas please hear our pleas [kalikasan ay ingatan]
Save our seas you hear our pleas [kalikasan ay ingatan]
Save our seas you hear our pleas [kalikasan ay ingatan]
[Chorus]
We must fight for the waters
So they will forgive
All of the damage we did
And just like her oh we could brave
Helping save others and making waves

Reflection
Reflection
My original song, “Making Waves,” is about Joanna Sustento, a Filipino woman who survived Typhoon Yolanda, one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded, on November 8, 2013, and lost her family to the raging waters. In response to this disaster, Joanna fought for climate change justice with Greenpeace by demanding accountability from fossil fuel companies such as Shell and protesting against oil drills in the Arctic. She also co-organized a project entitled “LIVErary: Living Books and Readers,” which allowed other survivors to share their experiences through storytelling. Even though Yolanda happened almost ten years ago, the impact of climate change still affects the Philippines. It is the efforts of activists like Joanna who will protect the Philippine waters. I felt a deep connection to Joanna’s story not only because of how inspirational it is, but because I, too, am Filipino. Though I am half-Filipino and live in the United States, I can still understand the devastating effects that typhoons can have on families. Whenever a typhoon hits the Philippines, I always keep the safety of my family there in mind. In “Making Waves,” I included the phrase in Tagalog, “kalikasan ay ingatan,” or “protect nature,” to add more cultural layers to the song.