Let me introduce myself. Until 2012, I had Filipino nationality. Living in Europe has turned to one European passport. My heart is still with the Philippines though.
When the tropical storm hit the Philippines and wasted a lot of lives, properties, nature and resources, I felt helpless. I know what poverty is, and I felt relived with the fact that my family was safe. However, thousands of fellow Filipinos are suffering and just surviving for the day. It is very sad. I was helpless. I seeked help right away by trying to coordinate with an organization organizing help at work and they openly welcomed the suggestion. That was 4 days after the storm. I however know that this can take time, from establishing contact in the Philippines to raising funds and sending it over. Lives may be lost already.
Moreover, I have colleagues personally offering me help if I need. Everyone's problem seems to be the same: they want to help directly those people. How? We do not know! A lot of charity organizations/foundations have overhead and they want their donations go directly to the needy, 100%!
With the above, I thought this may help, if those who need help and those who want to help can reach each other directly. I hope to this to happen and probably this website can be of help.
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ReplyDeleteI've just come back home from a personal relief mission trip. Apparently the presence of relief mission has not reached a large area of the province of Capiz. My team went to my grandmother's hometown and I knew only one private citizen giving out relief goods. I've gathered little amount from friends in NYC and Korea and I with my relatives was able to distribute some goods. I think I encourage everyone to visit affected places personally, like house to house. I don't like seeing people falling in line under the heat of the sun just to get there goods. They are exhausted already and to tire them more doesn't make any sense. My team walked on mud to deliver goods. It was a great personal contact with the victims and spending a little time talking to people about their experiences. In that case it's more fulfilling to give. I hope to come back their next week.
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