The
past few days have caused anxiety for all of us Fil-Americans here at
North
Carolina who have families in areas hardest hit by typhoon
Yolanda in the
Central Philippines.
By
God's grace some of us already received good news about our families
back
home while the rest are in limbo. We have been talking since
yesterday to pool
resources to help while others already packed boxes
of clothes like the
generous Princess Diwata of Salisbury, Hazel
Willard, Rose Hagan and so on.
Very
laudable indeed, such a quick response to calls for help. But there are
obstacles like massive looting done by outsiders wishing to exploit the crisis
situation for their personal gain.
I
have asked friends back home actually media friends who are aware of
all the
issues on times like thi and I have received advise from
Stephen Capillas of
Cebu Daily News and Jay Valleser of Goldstar Daily
who advised us like us to
make sure that what we give would end in
better hands.
Here's
Jay's message:
Hi
Sansu, you know what they are talking now on TV here? That goods may
not
be the best way to help the victims of Yolanda. Think about that.
By the time
your good donations comes, the victims may not need them
anymore.
Like
Sendong here in Cagayan de Oro two years ago, after the initial burst
of
clothing, food and other goods, the victims found they had so much
of these
items and yet they were still lacking basic essentials.
Ikaw
ra dugang (you add it up) hehehhe. Go on with your efforts. Yolanda
victims are praying for your success. So do we. Here's an idea for a
meaningful
help; why won't your group "adopt" a barangay,
say in Tacloban or wherever
you are inspired to help.
Then,
determine what would they need most that would impact on their
rehabilitation. It could be a school, a barangay health center, a
tanod center or
maybe a chapel... Say it is a school, your group can
come up with the necessary
budget for a one classroom bldg.
Maybe
that would cost something like P250 thou or could be in the vicinity
of
$5,000. With proper coordination, you can have the PTA of that
school
volunteer their labor!! Just an idea.... Good luck and God
bless you!!!!
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