How you can help those in the Philippines

The community is rallying to send aid to the Philippines in the aftermath of one of the most powerful storms in history.

Super Typhoon Haiyan tore through the island nation at 4am on Friday, annihilating everything in its path.

As the death toll mounts — with more than 2,000 expected fatalities — aid agencies around the world are coordinating relief to the affected areas. 

In Bermuda, where up to 3,000 Filipinos live, there is also a united effort to send assistance.

The Association of Filipinos in Bermuda is working with one company to organize a shipment of supplies.

Association vice president Rowena Comber said: “We are currently liaising with an employer who is willing to handle the shipment costs for shipping a container full of relief goods to the Philippines.”  

The Association raised more than $10,000 at a lunch at St Theresa’s Church on Monday, attended by more than 300 people.

George Alayon, the organization’s auditor, described the support as “unbelievable”.

Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy, who attended the fundraiser, told the Sun: “We understand and empathize with what they’re going through with their families at home. We pledge to leave no one behind and that includes the Filipino community.”

Locally, at least one resident has lost relatives in the disaster, including children.

Donations to the Association will be shared among the Catholic Relief Services, Operation Blessing and the Philippine National Red Cross.

The Filipino Club 2000 is helping in the fundraising effort.

Genoveva ‘Ghenie’ Edwards, chairwoman, said: “Everybody is devastated and emotional, but when it comes to calamities like this we always come together and do the best we can to help our families and friends.”

The Filipino Club 2000 will raise funds at its Christmas party at St Paul’s Church, Paget, on December 1 for the victims of the 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Bohol last month and the Haiyan typhoon.

The beneficiaries are the CDRC (Citizens Disaster Response Center), Children’s Rehabilitation Center, Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (in Mindanao), and Urban Angels Medical Mission.

Donate

Digicel Bermuda has also teamed up with the Bermuda Red Cross to enable people to donate via text message.

Just text HELP to 5151 to make a $5 donation, or 5152 to donate $10.

It will also donate $10,000 to the relief effort.

Wayne Caines, Digicel Bermuda CEO, said: “Every second counts for those people who are depending on international assistance for basic needs like food, clean water and dry shelter.”

Ann Spencer-Arscott, Bermuda Red Cross director, said: “The Red Cross is already making headway in affected areas and the funds raised by Digicel and their customers will go a long way in helping those in need.”

Governor George Fergusson has confirmed that the funds raised will be matched ‘pound for pound’ by the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee.

Joe Prevendida, president of the Association of Filipinos, said: “We are so grateful to the Bermudian people for their generosity. People in the Philippines desperately need food and other means of survival. No donation is too small. We are thankful for every penny.”

If you wish to donate, send a cheque to the Association of Filipinos in Bermuda at PO Box HM 1100, Hamilton, HMEX.

You can also donate online at Butterfield Bank, account no. 2000 6060 258 204100. Call 293-2609 for more information.

To contact Filipino Club 2000, call 538-3849.

To donate to the Bermuda Red Cross appeal, contribute online at HSBC Bank Bermuda at 010 187417 012 or Butterfield Bank at 20 006 060 663859 200. Call 236-8253 for more information. 

The Bermuda Division of the Salvation Army also has a disaster appeal. E-mail [email protected] 

The Philippines

• Where? The Republic of the Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands in Southeast Asia, in the western Pacific. It sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, close to the equator, vulnerable to typhoons and earthquakes.

• Capital: Manila

• Population: 98 million. Another 12 million Filipinos live overseas. (There are estimated to be up to 3,000 Filipinos living in Bermuda, including children from marriages). Median average age 23, compared with 37 in the US.

• Language: Filipino and English. Up to 80 per cent of population are Catholic, 10 per cent other Christian denominations, 5 per cent are Muslim.

• Government: A democracy with elected head of state, President Benigno Aquino III. Was a dictatorship under martial law for nine years under President Ferdinand Marcos. He was ousted in the ‘People Power’ uprising of 1986. Marcos’s wife Imelda was notorious for her lavish spending and collection of 1,200 pairs of designer shoes.

• Resources/economy: Abundant in minerals, second-largest gold deposits after South Africa. Philippines has the 41st largest economy in the world. Economy has evolved from agriculture to manufacturing & services. Exports include electronic products, clothing, copper & petroleum products.

• Literacy: More than 95 per cent of over-15s can read and write.

• Famous Filipinos: include boxing world champion Manny Pacquiao, Current Miss World — Megan Young, US football star Tim Tebow and actor Lou Diamond Phillips.

Research: Amanda Dale