(image via, credits to Agence France-Presse)
Hello everyone. Just announcing a quick pause in regular posting.
As you may or may not have heard, a typhoon called “Haiyan” (“Yolanda” is its local name here) swept through certain regions of my country, the Philippines. My hometown is considerably far from where Haiyan/Yolanda hit the strongest, which is the Visayas region. Tacloban experienced a storm surge, where the waters rose to about 15 feet, leaving death and destruction in its wake.
Currently, the death toll is in the hundreds (reportedly about a thousand in total, but I can’t confirm) and there are a lot of structural damage in certain parts of the Visayas. Haiyan/Yolanda is on its way out of the Philippine area of responsibility, but we are left with entire cities to take care of and help out.
Please consider making a donation (I’ll leave the info below) or sparing a thought or two for those who have lost a lot. Haiyan/Yolanda has been reported to have slowed down as it exits, but please be vigilant and try to keep safe if you live in a place where it is set to hit. Good thoughts and prayers to you all.
WAYS TO DONATE:
— Red Cross (online)
— Red Cross, via local SMS:
- Smart – text RED to 4143. Amounts are 10, 25, 50, 100, 300, and 500.
- Globe – text RED to 2899. Amounts are 10, 25, 50, 100, 300, and 500.
— World Food Programme
— Sagip Kapamilya (through a local broadcasting company)
RELIEF OPERATIONS:
Volunteers needed to help in repacking relief goods at DSWD-NROC (Naia Chapel Road behind Air Transportation Office, Pasay City). To volunteer please call 851-12681.
REMINDERS FOR FOOD DONATIONS:
With food donations, drinking water is first priority. Most hard-hit areas have contaminated water sources, and distilling stations are most probably not operational at the moment. Also, please donate food that’s ready to eat. Ulam in foil packs, Century tuna paella in easy-open cans, bread, crackers and cookies, etc.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Softly Sometimes 
Reblogged this on Eye Have A Lot of Feelings.
Sending my deepest condolences and prayers to the people suffering in the Philippines due to the typhoon.
Thank you, Belly.
Sending my prayers to you all in the Philippines x
Thank you so much. ❤
Reblogged this on elizavictoria.com and commented:
For who do not have PayPal and/or credit cards and wish to donate cash, this is the most convenient donation portal I’ve seen so far: Simply log in to http://www.bpiexpressonline.com and choose Payments & Reloading > e-Donations > ABS-CBN FOUNDN SAGIP KAPAMILYA.
Ayala Foundation and Bantay Bata are also listed under e-Donations.
Rappler collates a list here of groups that receive donations, including the Philippine Daily Inquirer, LBC, DSWD, various schools and universities, and local government units: http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/disasters/43300-reliefph-victims-typhoon-yolanda-help
I personally believe cash donations are the way to go. The groups mentioned (especially the Philippine Red Cross) have years of experience in helping and reaching disaster victims. They would know best what items to buy and deliver and in what amount and where. The cash donations would also help defray costs of actually reaching the affected areas, some of which can only be reached via plane or helicopter.
We are safe here in Luzon, stuck at work (lucky us!), but we can still help. Thanks for reading.
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Oh, I didn’t know you were a Filipina too cos I just saw your post from the WordPress Reader! Yolanda really was (is) devastating, no? It also doesn’t help that the government, people, and media are continuously butting heads against each other. 😦
Yeah, well, hopefully it is on it’s way to getting better since the relief operations have been good. I can’t blame anyone since it was/is really an ordeal to get through.
True. I’m really thankful for the amount of international help we’re getting, though! I never thought I’d live to see the occurrence of something so heartwarming on such a grand scale. 🙂