* UPDATE 1: Bangon Philippines is a very helpful summary of areas hit (Tacloban, Cebu, Coron, Bantayan, Ormoc, and Isabel). They also have a Survivors List per area. If you have heard from family / friends in an area, please add them to the list so others can see they're ok. *
"The relief goods from Manila were gone in an instant. The airport itself was wiped out." (reporter Rupert Ambil on Tacloban City, Rappler.com)
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I'm gathering relief info for the Philippines in this diary, post-Typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan. If you have other info, share in the comments and I'll update it.
And please donate. Sadly, it's the most vulnerable who were hit by Typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan in the Philippines. The poorest provinces of the Visayas (Leyte, Samar, and smaller, outlying islands), without stockpiled food or water, or strong housing. The islands of Bohol and Cebu were still recovering from a major earthquake just last month, with 5,000 people on Bohol living in tents BEFORE the storm.
Relief groups and more after the jump:
MAJOR ORGANIZATIONS
Philippine Red Cross
donate via Paypal
This is set to Philippine pesos (currently P43 to $1). Some quick conversions: $10 = 430 pesos / $25 = 1,075 pesos / $50 = 2,150 pesos.
Gawad Kalinga
website and donate via credit card
Gawad Kalinga is a respected, 10-year-old organization that started in the Philippines. It's like Habitat for Humanity, but they build communities, not just housing, with an eye to sustainability and community involvement. Housing has been wiped out in the regions hit by Typhoon Haiyan, so GK is a good choice to donate to.
Shelterbox
website and donate
Shelterbox is excellent. Each green box provides survival equipement for a family. You can't earmark your donation to the Philippines, but they are currently on the ground in the Philippines, ready to help.
UNICEF
Text "RELIEF" to 864233 to donate $10.
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LOCALIZED EFFORTS
Rappler (a Philippine news organization), has an excellent list of relief efforts, listing larger organizations as well as smaller drives. They include a crowdsourced relief operations list at the bottom (more relevant if you are in the Philippines and want to drop off food or volunteer).
Save the Children
donate
They currently have a team on the ground in Tacloban, Leyte.
1,000 Bear Hugs
My Fil-Am friend, Meredith, is partnering with Philippine organization 1,000 Bear Hugs, to send gently used stuffed toys over. She writes "Large relief organizations such as the Red Cross do an amazing job taking care of basic relief supplies, so we thought we'd contribute by helping with the emotional health of children. While it's vital to take care of everyone's physical well-being, it is the emotional effect of a crisis that can affect a child's life for years to come. Having a toy to hold can make a huge difference in allowing children to get themselves through."
Please don't spend money on new toys / shipping, but if you have old toys and can ship them without big expense, send them to Ricefield Collective, 1,000 Bear Hugs Project, 421 North Aurora Street, Ithaca, NY 14850.
Meredith is the amazing founder of Ricefield Collective, which provides fair wage employment for indigenous women of the northern Philippines via knitting.
New Yorkers! The Haiyan NYC Relief Effort
could use your help. Check out their FB page or email haiyannycreliefproject@gmail.com to get involved. Just a note that cash is king in relief efforts, better than collecting goods that need to be mailed. However, some prefer to donate goods in kind or volunteer, and if you're in New York, you can help them out.
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MORE INFO + PHOTOS
- Follow #reliefPH on Twitter for updates on relief efforts
- "Tacloban Diary" on Rappler.com
- Video of Tacloban hotel storm peak
- Terry Pinder's dailykos diary on the aftermath
- BANTAYAN ISLAND was directly hit, and 90% of the houses left standing have no roof. The Bantayan Island Association is updating their Facebook page with info as it comes.
Street in Tacloban, Leyte
Hospital in Tacloban, which ran out of medical supplies.
Former sports complex in Lawis Medellin, Cebu
And a bit of inspiration
3:17 PM PT: Contribute to a masterlist of survivors (crowdsourced), and general summaries of the various affected areas. Information is hard to come by on many of the islands hit.