8 ms·

Tormented typhoon victims scour for food

103 points by elleferrer 13y ago

8ig8 13y ago
"THIS STORY MAKES PEOPLE SAD" I'm not familiar with Rappler and have never seen this emotion voting before. Edit: For 5%, this story makes them happy?! This story makes me want to help. Looks like people are adding details on how to do so. Ignore this trivial comment and see those. Thanks. Edit 2: Here's a related thread on Reddit for details on what's happening and how to donate: Emergency appeal in response to Typhoon Haiyan (self.doctorswithoutborders) http://www.reddit.com/r/doctorswithoutborders/comments/1qejwm/emergency_appeal_in_response_to_typhoon_haiyan/ http://www.reddit.com/r/doctorswithoutborders/comments/1qejw...
- vacri 13y ago
  Re: the 5% happy - the internet has trolls and other folks who just like being contrary for the sake of it.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- wyclif 13y ago
  Rappler is a bit like the HuffPo of the Philippines.
xacaxulu 13y ago
You can donate to Save the Children here: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/about-us/emergencies/philippines-typhoon-haiyan http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/about-us/emergencies/phili... Also: https://donate.oxfam.org.uk/emergency/philippines?intcmp=hp_276_hero_philippines-typhoon_2013-11-10 https://donate.oxfam.org.uk/emergency/philippines?intcmp=hp_...
- wozniacki 13y ago
  I know that this is an emergency and perhaps not the best time to split hairs. Having said that, is there a Charity Navigator for the UK / Europe? http://www.charitynavigator.org/ http://www.charitynavigator.org/ I do not give a single red penny to even a local food bank unless I am fairly familiar with the inner workings and general overhead of the organization. I am sorry but gone are those days one could blindly write a check to any random outfit - Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders or Oxfam - however reputable and however straight-laced. The kind of waste, misuse and sheer incompetence that goes on in some charity houses borders on the rotten.
  - jaredhansen 13y ago
    Direct Relief gets great marks from Charity Navigator and others, and 100% of donations go to intended recipients due to a neat structure that offloads ops costs onto a trust. http://www.directrelief.org/ http://www.directrelief.org/
  - rz2k 13y ago
    In deed it isn't a time to split hairs, but I believe that Charity Navigator, GuideStar and others are likely to undermine the mission of nonprofits. A five star rating or equivalent can be earned by extensive contracting out rather than developing internal talent, and accounting choices like using operating leases rather than ever purchasing equipment. An extreme focus on general and administrative expenses can mean that what counts as direct expenditures on recipients is poorly targeted, gets wasted, or even ends up in the wrong hands. For example there are many stories of how food aid ends up in warlords hands, then used as a tool of influence. When valuing a regular company you look at the expenses and the revenues, but out of necessity these ratings only focus on expenses because it is to difficult to quantify the qualitative public good being performed. However, the justification for the donation is the public good (the revenue of a nonprofit), and the expenses out of that context is as meaningless, or even misleading, as it is to look at a for profit company's expenses without the context of their revenues. Even in the case of a nonprofit that is passing through 100% of its funds to people, that means that 100% of the expenses are payouts to recipients. It is worth recognizing that the pass through is an expense, while the revenue equivalent is the actual improvement of the public good achieved by those funds. Are the nonprofit rating agencies better than nothing? I'm not sure they are. I've had experiences, and heard similar experiences from others, where nonprofits with questionable operating management practices and poor focus on the mission were able to achieve perfect ratings. I think the ratings are a useful veil for questionable operators that choose to focus on their ratings. Furthermore, achieving the ratings can become an important goal in itself, and undermine the mission by discouraging some otherwise productive choices. Presumably, for a donor the most important factors are how much they care about the mission, how effective the nonprofit's approach is in serving that mission, and how much of it is done per dollar they contribute to the organization. While it is impossible to put such considerations into a star ratings system, it is much more important to you as a donor interested in achieving good than anything the ratings can tell you. Anyway, there aren't any easy ways to choose, but I think it is worth looking at the annual reports, considering whether the mission statement is clear and focused, that the mission is one you care about, that their approach makes sense, and that they are transparent, and report their dollar expenditures in enough detail that you can clearly understand how they function.
nirmel 13y ago
Can we as a community think of anything we could do help this situation? Is anyone helping people locate loved ones? Is anyone giving people a way to report where help is most needed? Is anyone giving bystanders like us direction on how we should help? If funds are needed, is anyone taking charge in rallying the support needed for private donations?
- aaron695 13y ago
  Give money.
  - kevinconroy 13y ago
    +1. Why money and not stuff? There are literally hundreds of articles on this topic, but here's one from a professor of public health specific to Typhoon Haiyan relief: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2013/11/how_to_help_typhoon_haiyan_survivors_in_the_philippines_the_only_donation.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2...
- derwiki 13y ago
  I'm sending money directly to my sister-in-law's family who had their roof completely blown off (they were further away and not as affected as other regions). That said, many who wish to give don't have direct connections like that. This list of resources was on the original thread about this disaster yesterday: PeopleLocator (https://pl.nlm.nih.gov/ https://pl.nlm.nih.gov/) Google PersonFinder (http://google.org/personfinder/2013-yolanda/query?role=seek http://google.org/personfinder/2013-yolanda/query?role=seek) alternate source for Google PersonFinder (http://google.org/personfinder/global/home.html http://google.org/personfinder/global/home.html) Red Cross request for help restoring contact (http://familylinks.icrc.org/en/pages/home.aspx http://familylinks.icrc.org/en/pages/home.aspx) and If you would like to donate, here are some organizations that could use your help: Red Cross Philippines (http://www.redcross.org.ph/donate http://www.redcross.org.ph/donate) via Paypal Ayala Foundation's 'Laging Handa Fund' (Always Ready), overseas donors can use this online portal(http://feedthehungryphil.org/ayala-foundation-inc/ http://feedthehungryphil.org/ayala-foundation-inc/) for donations GlobalGiving.com(http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/philippines-disaster-re... http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/philippines-disaster-re...). Credit and debit card donations accepted. Save the Children (http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.885610... http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.885610...). Save the Children has a team on the ground in Tacloban working to respond to this emergency.
yetanotherphd 13y ago
Can anyone comment on the relative efficiency of charitable donations to disaster relief, as opposed to other programs? I think it would be a mistake to bias charitable donations towards acute problems as opposed to chronic ones. But on the other hand, increases in the total amount of charitable giving are a net plus, so I'm not complaining about this story, I just think it's good to think of the bigger picture too.
- TylerE 13y ago
  Basically yea. Anything you give now won't get there quick enough to do any good. All the stuff the red cross collects after a disaster is simply warehoused for the NEXT time something happens.
  - kevinconroy 13y ago
    I can't speak for the Red Cross, but donations made after a disaster are used to provide relief. It's true that if you give $100 now, it's impossible to instantly turn that into food for those in need, but it will let non-profits purchase and ship more relief supplies. Initial disaster relief by necessity has to address short-term needs. Food, shelter, medicine, sanitation. Once basic needs are met, some organizations declare victory and leave. Others - typically those based in the community in the first place - continue to work on long-term recovery efforts, ranging from education, microloans, economic development, job training, etc. It really depends on the organization and the needs of the community.
  - thecodeore 13y ago
    Or to buy the Red Cross Executives BMW's... Never donate to the Red Cross, pick a Real Charity
    - erre 13y ago
      Source? I was about to donate to the Red Cross, so I'd like to hear more about this.
      - 13y ago
elleferrer 13y ago
This quote really got me choked up, "I am a decent person. But if you have not eaten in 3 days, you do shameful things to survive," ...as for Rappler's mood meter, I'm definitely SAD and angry about all this.
elleferrer 13y ago
Some people are surviving on just coconuts because they are afraid to fish due to all the dead bodies. I have family, friends and employees in the Philippines, fortunately they are all safe and were in areas only battered by the heavy winds and rain. I was told many years ago they were suppose to build a WALL near Tacloban, knowing it was a bad area for storm surges, but politics prevented that from ever happening. The devastation is so heartbreaking! No one knows what to do, it's just so overwhelming. OH.. and there's another storm, Zoraida, approaching the southern Philippines just days after this super storm.
nowarninglabel 13y ago
TIME actually has a good, comprehensive list of ways to help: If you’re looking or have information on a missing person, Google Person Finder has launched a Typhoon Yolanda page. A Google Crisis Map is also available for evacuation and relief information. The mGive Foundation is collecting donations from U.S. wireless subscribers, who can text AID to 80108 to give a $10 donation to the organization’s Philippines Typhoon Diaster Relief Fund. Charges will appear on the user’s wireless bill or will be deducted from a prepaid balance. Text STOP to 80108 to stop or HELP for assistance. Full terms are available here. UNICEF is supporting relief efforts by helping displaced families find access to shelter, clean water, food and vaccines and airlifting $1.3 million of additional supplies from its Copenhagen warehouse. You can donate online, call 1-800-367-5437 or text RELIEF to 864233. The Philippine Red Cross is providing a tracking service for family members looking for missing people. The organization is accepting donations on its website (100 PHP = $2.30) and is looking for volunteers to help assemble relief packages at its headquarters in Manila. The American Red Cross has also activated a family-tracking service for those looking for a missing family member in the Philippines. Donors can send a check to their local chapter, indicating “Philippines Typhoons and Floods” in the memo line. The World Food Programme is mobilizing 40 metric tons of high-energy biscuits and additional relief supplies, but it is also accepting donations online or by calling 1-202-747-0722 or +39-06-65131 from outside the U.S. CARE is accepting donations on its website and has deployed workers to the Philippines to assist with emergency relief. You can donate by phone at 1-800-521-2273 or +1-404-681-2252 for international calls. Oxfam has emergency responders on the ground to assist with relief support. The organization is asking for contributions to its Typhoon Haiyan Relief and Recovery Fund online. International Medical Corps is also on the ground to help assess damage and is accepting donations on its emergency-response page for Haiyan relief. ChildFund International is distributing clean water, food, blankets and other emergency aid items. Staff members are also setting up child-centered spaces in evacuation centers to offer counseling and relief for children and their families. Donate online. Doctors Without Borders has had 15 members of an emergency team in Cebu since Saturday. The organization is sending more staff to assist with medical and psychological treatment as well as items such as medical kits, vaccines and hygiene kits over the next few days. An additional cargo with an inflatable hospital and medical material is being prepared to leave later this week. Donate online. The International Rescue Committee has also dispatched a team of aid workers to assist in assessing the damage and providing access to clean water and hygiene and sanitation needs. The organization is asking for donations online.
pasilibm 13y ago
This is a scenario Silicon Valley libertarians would be cool with. "The market will take care of it", right? Still waiting for the libertarians to move to the Philippines...
kevinconroy 13y ago
http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/super-typhoon-haiyan-relief-fund/ http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/super-typhoon-haiyan-re... GlobalGiving.org's Super Typhoon Haiyan Relief Fund is raising funds to support immediate relief and long term recovery efforts. Donations made to the relief fund will be used to support local organizations that are well positioned to make a direct impact in their communities but lack the name brand recognition to fundraise internationally. After the 2011 Japan Tsunami, GlobalGiving raised over $8.9M for the Japan relief fund and used it to support a variety of local non-profits in the Japan doing incredible work. http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/japan-earthquake-tsunami-relief/updates/ http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/japan-earthquake-tsunam... Disclosure: I'm the Chief Product Officer at GlobalGiving and am happy to answer any questions. Your donation will be used responsibility to ensure that it helps those in need in the Philippines. Pre-emptive Answer: Yes, GlobalGiving has overhead. Every charity does. We offer you the option to explicitly cover this overhead when you donate so that 100% of your donation will go to relief efforts. None of the other charities can make this promise.
frapbot 13y ago
This whole thing is just heartbreaking. I live in Manila but spent the majority of my life in Bicol, a southeastern province facing the pacific, making it one of the most typhoon-prone parts of the country. I watched the local news over dinner today and here is the latest: People sleeping near the tarmac, waiting to get out of Leyte as soon as possible. Ports in Cebu are filled with people going to Leyte, some travels are cancelled due to bad weather. Businessmen complaining about the looting and wants to leave the province, demanding security from the government "for a long time". They also said that these looters are organized and are taking advantage of the current state of the province. A lady telling the story of his children eating spoiled food. I can't quite translate the whole story from the local language but this one really touched me. A child pleading for help, saying "wala nang pagasa" (Hope is gone). The Department of Help urged the local government to postpone the burial of the dead. Some of the baranggays (local communities) are still isolated.

103 points by elleferrer 13y ago

8ig8 13y ago

"THIS STORY MAKES PEOPLE SAD" I'm not familiar with Rappler and have never seen this emotion voting before. Edit: For 5%, this story makes them happy?! This story makes me want to help. Looks like people are adding details on how to do so. Ignore this trivial comment and see those. Thanks. Edit 2: Here's a related thread on Reddit for details on what's happening and how to donate: Emergency appeal in response to Typhoon Haiyan (self.doctorswithoutborders) http://www.reddit.com/r/doctorswithoutborders/comments/1qejwm/emergency_appeal_in_response_to_typhoon_haiyan/ http://www.reddit.com/r/doctorswithoutborders/comments/1qejw...

vacri 13y ago
Re: the 5% happy - the internet has trolls and other folks who just like being contrary for the sake of it.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
wyclif 13y ago
Rappler is a bit like the HuffPo of the Philippines.

xacaxulu 13y ago

You can donate to Save the Children here: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/about-us/emergencies/philippines-typhoon-haiyan http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/about-us/emergencies/phili... Also: https://donate.oxfam.org.uk/emergency/philippines?intcmp=hp_276_hero_philippines-typhoon_2013-11-10 https://donate.oxfam.org.uk/emergency/philippines?intcmp=hp_...

wozniacki 13y ago
I know that this is an emergency and perhaps not the best time to split hairs. Having said that, is there a Charity Navigator for the UK / Europe? http://www.charitynavigator.org/ http://www.charitynavigator.org/ I do not give a single red penny to even a local food bank unless I am fairly familiar with the inner workings and general overhead of the organization. I am sorry but gone are those days one could blindly write a check to any random outfit - Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders or Oxfam - however reputable and however straight-laced. The kind of waste, misuse and sheer incompetence that goes on in some charity houses borders on the rotten.
- jaredhansen 13y ago
  Direct Relief gets great marks from Charity Navigator and others, and 100% of donations go to intended recipients due to a neat structure that offloads ops costs onto a trust. http://www.directrelief.org/ http://www.directrelief.org/
- rz2k 13y ago
  In deed it isn't a time to split hairs, but I believe that Charity Navigator, GuideStar and others are likely to undermine the mission of nonprofits. A five star rating or equivalent can be earned by extensive contracting out rather than developing internal talent, and accounting choices like using operating leases rather than ever purchasing equipment. An extreme focus on general and administrative expenses can mean that what counts as direct expenditures on recipients is poorly targeted, gets wasted, or even ends up in the wrong hands. For example there are many stories of how food aid ends up in warlords hands, then used as a tool of influence. When valuing a regular company you look at the expenses and the revenues, but out of necessity these ratings only focus on expenses because it is to difficult to quantify the qualitative public good being performed. However, the justification for the donation is the public good (the revenue of a nonprofit), and the expenses out of that context is as meaningless, or even misleading, as it is to look at a for profit company's expenses without the context of their revenues. Even in the case of a nonprofit that is passing through 100% of its funds to people, that means that 100% of the expenses are payouts to recipients. It is worth recognizing that the pass through is an expense, while the revenue equivalent is the actual improvement of the public good achieved by those funds. Are the nonprofit rating agencies better than nothing? I'm not sure they are. I've had experiences, and heard similar experiences from others, where nonprofits with questionable operating management practices and poor focus on the mission were able to achieve perfect ratings. I think the ratings are a useful veil for questionable operators that choose to focus on their ratings. Furthermore, achieving the ratings can become an important goal in itself, and undermine the mission by discouraging some otherwise productive choices. Presumably, for a donor the most important factors are how much they care about the mission, how effective the nonprofit's approach is in serving that mission, and how much of it is done per dollar they contribute to the organization. While it is impossible to put such considerations into a star ratings system, it is much more important to you as a donor interested in achieving good than anything the ratings can tell you. Anyway, there aren't any easy ways to choose, but I think it is worth looking at the annual reports, considering whether the mission statement is clear and focused, that the mission is one you care about, that their approach makes sense, and that they are transparent, and report their dollar expenditures in enough detail that you can clearly understand how they function.

nirmel 13y ago

Can we as a community think of anything we could do help this situation? Is anyone helping people locate loved ones? Is anyone giving people a way to report where help is most needed? Is anyone giving bystanders like us direction on how we should help? If funds are needed, is anyone taking charge in rallying the support needed for private donations?

aaron695 13y ago
Give money.
- kevinconroy 13y ago
  +1. Why money and not stuff? There are literally hundreds of articles on this topic, but here's one from a professor of public health specific to Typhoon Haiyan relief: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2013/11/how_to_help_typhoon_haiyan_survivors_in_the_philippines_the_only_donation.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2...
derwiki 13y ago
I'm sending money directly to my sister-in-law's family who had their roof completely blown off (they were further away and not as affected as other regions). That said, many who wish to give don't have direct connections like that. This list of resources was on the original thread about this disaster yesterday: PeopleLocator (https://pl.nlm.nih.gov/ https://pl.nlm.nih.gov/) Google PersonFinder (http://google.org/personfinder/2013-yolanda/query?role=seek http://google.org/personfinder/2013-yolanda/query?role=seek) alternate source for Google PersonFinder (http://google.org/personfinder/global/home.html http://google.org/personfinder/global/home.html) Red Cross request for help restoring contact (http://familylinks.icrc.org/en/pages/home.aspx http://familylinks.icrc.org/en/pages/home.aspx) and If you would like to donate, here are some organizations that could use your help: Red Cross Philippines (http://www.redcross.org.ph/donate http://www.redcross.org.ph/donate) via Paypal Ayala Foundation's 'Laging Handa Fund' (Always Ready), overseas donors can use this online portal(http://feedthehungryphil.org/ayala-foundation-inc/ http://feedthehungryphil.org/ayala-foundation-inc/) for donations GlobalGiving.com(http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/philippines-disaster-re... http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/philippines-disaster-re...). Credit and debit card donations accepted. Save the Children (http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.885610... http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.885610...). Save the Children has a team on the ground in Tacloban working to respond to this emergency.

yetanotherphd 13y ago

Can anyone comment on the relative efficiency of charitable donations to disaster relief, as opposed to other programs? I think it would be a mistake to bias charitable donations towards acute problems as opposed to chronic ones. But on the other hand, increases in the total amount of charitable giving are a net plus, so I'm not complaining about this story, I just think it's good to think of the bigger picture too.

TylerE 13y ago
Basically yea. Anything you give now won't get there quick enough to do any good. All the stuff the red cross collects after a disaster is simply warehoused for the NEXT time something happens.
- kevinconroy 13y ago
  I can't speak for the Red Cross, but donations made after a disaster are used to provide relief. It's true that if you give $100 now, it's impossible to instantly turn that into food for those in need, but it will let non-profits purchase and ship more relief supplies. Initial disaster relief by necessity has to address short-term needs. Food, shelter, medicine, sanitation. Once basic needs are met, some organizations declare victory and leave. Others - typically those based in the community in the first place - continue to work on long-term recovery efforts, ranging from education, microloans, economic development, job training, etc. It really depends on the organization and the needs of the community.
- thecodeore 13y ago
  Or to buy the Red Cross Executives BMW's... Never donate to the Red Cross, pick a Real Charity
  - erre 13y ago
    Source? I was about to donate to the Red Cross, so I'd like to hear more about this.
    - 13y ago

elleferrer 13y ago

This quote really got me choked up, "I am a decent person. But if you have not eaten in 3 days, you do shameful things to survive," ...as for Rappler's mood meter, I'm definitely SAD and angry about all this.

elleferrer 13y ago

Some people are surviving on just coconuts because they are afraid to fish due to all the dead bodies. I have family, friends and employees in the Philippines, fortunately they are all safe and were in areas only battered by the heavy winds and rain. I was told many years ago they were suppose to build a WALL near Tacloban, knowing it was a bad area for storm surges, but politics prevented that from ever happening. The devastation is so heartbreaking! No one knows what to do, it's just so overwhelming. OH.. and there's another storm, Zoraida, approaching the southern Philippines just days after this super storm.

nowarninglabel 13y ago

TIME actually has a good, comprehensive list of ways to help: If you’re looking or have information on a missing person, Google Person Finder has launched a Typhoon Yolanda page. A Google Crisis Map is also available for evacuation and relief information. The mGive Foundation is collecting donations from U.S. wireless subscribers, who can text AID to 80108 to give a $10 donation to the organization’s Philippines Typhoon Diaster Relief Fund. Charges will appear on the user’s wireless bill or will be deducted from a prepaid balance. Text STOP to 80108 to stop or HELP for assistance. Full terms are available here. UNICEF is supporting relief efforts by helping displaced families find access to shelter, clean water, food and vaccines and airlifting $1.3 million of additional supplies from its Copenhagen warehouse. You can donate online, call 1-800-367-5437 or text RELIEF to 864233. The Philippine Red Cross is providing a tracking service for family members looking for missing people. The organization is accepting donations on its website (100 PHP = $2.30) and is looking for volunteers to help assemble relief packages at its headquarters in Manila. The American Red Cross has also activated a family-tracking service for those looking for a missing family member in the Philippines. Donors can send a check to their local chapter, indicating “Philippines Typhoons and Floods” in the memo line. The World Food Programme is mobilizing 40 metric tons of high-energy biscuits and additional relief supplies, but it is also accepting donations online or by calling 1-202-747-0722 or +39-06-65131 from outside the U.S. CARE is accepting donations on its website and has deployed workers to the Philippines to assist with emergency relief. You can donate by phone at 1-800-521-2273 or +1-404-681-2252 for international calls. Oxfam has emergency responders on the ground to assist with relief support. The organization is asking for contributions to its Typhoon Haiyan Relief and Recovery Fund online. International Medical Corps is also on the ground to help assess damage and is accepting donations on its emergency-response page for Haiyan relief. ChildFund International is distributing clean water, food, blankets and other emergency aid items. Staff members are also setting up child-centered spaces in evacuation centers to offer counseling and relief for children and their families. Donate online. Doctors Without Borders has had 15 members of an emergency team in Cebu since Saturday. The organization is sending more staff to assist with medical and psychological treatment as well as items such as medical kits, vaccines and hygiene kits over the next few days. An additional cargo with an inflatable hospital and medical material is being prepared to leave later this week. Donate online. The International Rescue Committee has also dispatched a team of aid workers to assist in assessing the damage and providing access to clean water and hygiene and sanitation needs. The organization is asking for donations online.

pasilibm 13y ago

This is a scenario Silicon Valley libertarians would be cool with. "The market will take care of it", right? Still waiting for the libertarians to move to the Philippines...

kevinconroy 13y ago

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/super-typhoon-haiyan-relief-fund/ http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/super-typhoon-haiyan-re... GlobalGiving.org's Super Typhoon Haiyan Relief Fund is raising funds to support immediate relief and long term recovery efforts. Donations made to the relief fund will be used to support local organizations that are well positioned to make a direct impact in their communities but lack the name brand recognition to fundraise internationally. After the 2011 Japan Tsunami, GlobalGiving raised over $8.9M for the Japan relief fund and used it to support a variety of local non-profits in the Japan doing incredible work. http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/japan-earthquake-tsunami-relief/updates/ http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/japan-earthquake-tsunam... Disclosure: I'm the Chief Product Officer at GlobalGiving and am happy to answer any questions. Your donation will be used responsibility to ensure that it helps those in need in the Philippines. Pre-emptive Answer: Yes, GlobalGiving has overhead. Every charity does. We offer you the option to explicitly cover this overhead when you donate so that 100% of your donation will go to relief efforts. None of the other charities can make this promise.

frapbot 13y ago

This whole thing is just heartbreaking. I live in Manila but spent the majority of my life in Bicol, a southeastern province facing the pacific, making it one of the most typhoon-prone parts of the country. I watched the local news over dinner today and here is the latest: People sleeping near the tarmac, waiting to get out of Leyte as soon as possible. Ports in Cebu are filled with people going to Leyte, some travels are cancelled due to bad weather. Businessmen complaining about the looting and wants to leave the province, demanding security from the government "for a long time". They also said that these looters are organized and are taking advantage of the current state of the province. A lady telling the story of his children eating spoiled food. I can't quite translate the whole story from the local language but this one really touched me. A child pleading for help, saying "wala nang pagasa" (Hope is gone). The Department of Help urged the local government to postpone the burial of the dead. Some of the baranggays (local communities) are still isolated.