Relief goods for flood victims continue to pour in from abroad

Relief goods and other forms of assistance continue pour in from abroad for the victims of tropical storm “Ondoy" and typhoon “Pepeng," the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday. Among the donors are members of the Filipino community in Hawaii, who have just launched a campaign to collect donations. Even Rep. Joey Manahan (District 29) told Philippine Consul General in Honolulu, Leoncio Cardenas, that he will join student groups in Hawaii in receiving donations until November. Manahan will work with student leaders Richard Tabalno, president of Katipunan at University of Hawaii; and Niccolo Gruta, president of Kababayan at Hawaii Pacific University. UH student organization Timpuyog will take part in the donation drive, while Katipunan will start receiving donations such as canned goods, usable clothing and other supplies starting October 13 until November, at the UH Student Center. The Philippine Consulate General has offered to be a drop-off point for donations in kind. Manahan also said LBC Foundation will help ship goods to Manila while Hawaiian Airlines and the US Pacific Command have made similar offers to fly to Manila all collected donations. Cardenas extended the the Philippine government’s gratitude to the Filipino Community and the people of Hawaii for their overwhelming support to raise funds for the flood victims. He also thanked the student leaders for their spirit of volunteerism and their passion to help the flood victims. Aid from Israel Meanwhile, an Israeli nongovernment organization, Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid (IsraAID), will send a team to the Philippines to assist in relief efforts. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the team, scheduled to leave for the Philippines last Saturday, will include of a doctor, a nurse, and three paramedics. “The group will stay in the Philippines for two weeks, after which another team from Israel will take their place," the DFA said. IsraAID is a coordinating body of Israeli and Jewish NGOs based in Israel that are active in developmental and relief work. It aims to provide humanitarian aid worldwide for people who are in need, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, nationality or disabilities. The DFA said IsraAID’s team in the Philippines will be working in close coordination with the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC). Fund from Italy Meanwhile, Filipinos in northern Italy sent to victims of tropical storm “Ondoy" (Ketsana) some €2,700 (P184,736) in excess funds from their Independence Day celebration last June. Philippine Vice Consul Mary Luck Hicarte turned over the donation to Rodel Dimatulac, branch head of Metrobank-Milan, for deposit. According to the DFA, the amount will go to the Philippine National Red Cross, which is actively involved in relief work. Filipino community organizations agreed in a meeting last week to donate to the PNRC part of the excess funds of the 2009 Independence Day celebrations. During the meeting, the Filipino community leaders agreed to pool information and to facilitate coordination on the many relief efforts being undertaken by the community organizations, including two benefit concerts featuring Filipino and Italian artists. The consulate reported the receptiveness of remittance centers and cargo forwarding companies to its request for the waiving of remittance and shipment charges for donations. It also reported the opening of a donation box within its premises and its acceptance of relief goods for shipment to Manila. A ton of goods from UAE In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Filipino community members and fellow expatriates at least one ton of relief goods for victims of Ondoy victims back home. A report on UAE-based news site Khaleej Times (www.khaleejtimes.com) said the donations included canned goods and clothes collected by a money transfer firm. Employees of Xpress Money, the global instant money transfer brand of the UAE Exchange Center, gathered the items from colleagues and customers. “These donations are small ways to express our solidarity with our Filipino friends, who have been the victims of the devastation caused by the ferocity of the typhoon Ondoy. We would like to help them overcome this difficult period in whatever possible ways we can, be it in cash or kind," said Sudhir Kumar Shetty, an Indian national who is COO-Global operations for Xpress Money. LBC Parcel will bring the items to the Philippines free of charge as part of its contribution, the report said. Philippine community leaders in Abu Dhabi also contributed 20,000 dirhams (P252,953) from their community funds to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Meanwhile, the UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA) has started accepting relief goods to be sent to the Philippines at four of its tents located across Abu Dhabi. These include the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City, Carrefour Airport Road, Marina Mall and Municipality at Salam Street. “Just write ‘relief items for the Philippines’ at the bag," advised Noel Servigon, consul general and charge d’ affaires at the Philippine Embassy. ’Donation Day’ in Switzerland On Oct. 9,.Swiss people held a “Donation Day" for Ondoy and Pepeng as well as for victims of quake victims in Indonesia and flood victims in India, a DFA report said. The “Donation Day" has so far raised the equivalent of P283.321 million for the victims in the three calamity-hit countries. “Donations have reached Swiss Francs 6,254,451 and may still go higher," it said, citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in Berne. The Swiss Solidarity Foundation, which organized the Donation Day, is the humanitarian arm of Swiss Radio and Television and the private print media. It works with 30 partner groups to provide emergency relief in disaster areas. Their partners include Caritas, Medicins Sans Frontieres, Swiss Red Cross, Handicap International. For its part, the Swiss Asian Chamber of Commerce (SACC) based in Zurich coordinated directly with the Swiss Solidarity Foundation to assist the Philippines. SACC is composed of entities doing business in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia. Philippine Ambassador to Switzerland Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Martin Kurer, SACC’s Philippine Chapter chairman, established the SACC Taskforce Asia (www.taskforceasia.ch), in close cooperation with the Indonesian ambassador in Switzerland and in coordination with the Philippine Swiss Business Council based in Manila, represented by Reiner Gloor. The Philippine Embassy also conveyed the gratitude of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., chair of the Philippine National Disaster Coordinating Council, to the Swiss people. “I have been informed about the efforts of the Swiss people and the Swiss government’s assistance and I wish to extend my sincerest gratitude. I wish to specifically mention the efforts of Swiss Solidarity, Glueckskette and Radio DRS. Thank you," Teodoro said in his message. Help from Down Under Down south in Australia, Filipinos in New South Wales also raised donations and collected relief goods for flood victims. “Families gave grocery products and clothes while senior citizens donated their pensions. Young professionals and university students approached groceries for donations of canned goods and pharmacies for medicines. Many Filipino-Australian organizations undertook fund appeals, to assist the civic relief groups sheltering and assisting flood victims," the DFA said. A Filipino language radio program made a two-day radiothon and raised 11,000 Australian dollars (P462,000) in pledges. As of October 6, three metric tons (3,000 kilograms) of collected food donations were sent by air to the PNRC, Gawad Kalinga, and other civic organizations. “A second shipment of relief goods, which is targeting six tons (6,000 kgs) of assorted relief goods, is being assembled for immediate shipment," the DFA said. Filipino-Australians in Blacktown City, where there are 21,000 Filipino immigrants, are organizing a concert to raise more funds for the flood victims, said J. Anthony Reyes, acting head of post of the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney. Boxes from UK In the United Kingdom, the Philippine Embassy in London and members of the Filipino-UK Community have begun shipping collected donations to the Philippines. The DFA said 24 large boxes packed with donated items were collected from the Embassy’s premises on October 8. Subsequent collections from the embassy are scheduled for October 15 and 20. “All goods will be placed in a container van donated by Wentworth International Movers for shipment to the Department of Social Works and Development (DSWD) in Manila," the DFA said. - GMANews.TV