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PHILIPPINE
TYPHOON
DISASTER APPEAL
Philippine government official list of
casualties for typhoon Haiyan /Yolanda - deceased,
injured and missing.
Website
of
the Philippine Embassy, London
Over
the
past four months FilCom Oxford been shipping goods back to
the Philippines. Rather than
trying to duplicate the efforts and scale of the major
aid-agencies, we took a different approach.
We have focused our help on those individuals and
communities in need who are known to the 1500 or so
members of FilCom Oxford itself. Typically,
these might be family-members, friends, neighbours or home
communities that our members (who come from all parts of
the Philippines) left-behind when they came to the UK. This kind of help is very
specific, we have far more idea of what happens to the
donations and are better able to ensure that they really
do go to people in need.
Many of our members and other
well-wishers helped with sorting and packaging goods at
our storage facility near Didcot in Oxfordshire.
About 150 boxes of aid have been shipped, many
by FilCom Oxford members back to their communities at
their own expense. In
addition to this, FilCom Oxford has shipped consignments
itself for subsequent distribution once arrived in the
Philippines. This shipping
and distribution will be coordinated by officers of the
Community through family and friends and other trusted
helpers.
Our aim is to feedback as much
information as possible about what happens to donations.
PLEASE
NOTE - We can no longer accept donations of goods as
we no longer have any storage facilties
DONATIONS
OF MONEY ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!
If
you
would like to make a donation , however small, it will
be much appreciated.
Please contact any FilCom Oxford officer or contact
Ariel Lanada at the following email address:
chairman@filcomoxford.org.uk
If you would prefer to give directly to the UK Disasters
Emergency Committee (DEC), you can also do this through
FilCom Oxford by visiting our page at JustGiving:
www.justgiving.com/FilComOxford
BBC TV
South Today Oxford - feature on the disaster
12-11-2013
FilCom
Oxford's Chairman, Ariel Lanada, talking with BBC Radio
Oxford's Ali Jones
Saturday
7
December 2013
Goods Make it to Roxas on Panay Island
One
of
the first shipments of goods from FilCom Oxford
recently made it to the city of Roxas in Capiz
Province on Panay Island in the Western
Visayas. The goods were shipped through
the kindness and generosity of Juday and Glenn
Divino. Roxas suffered considerable damage
during typhoon Haiyan as you can see in this YouTube
video .
25 February
2014
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Relief Aid Distributed at Bgy Luag, Duenas, Iloilo
Goods
sent
by FilCom Oxford as part of the relief effort
for Typhoon Haiyan were distributed to the
people of Barangay Luag, Duenas, Iloilo Province
during a Christmas party held on 27 December
2013. Also distributed were school
supplies bought with monetary donations from
staff at the Adult Intensive Care Unit at the
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust in the
UK. The party was held in the baragay's
new church which is in the course of being
built.
25 February
2014
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Sorting and Packing Continues!
As
at
22nd December 2013, around 60 boxes of goods
have been sorted and packed ready for shipping
(see pictures below). This is in addition to the
35 or so boxes already shipped. There is
still a lot more to do and we are having a major
sorting and packing day at our Steventon storage
facility on Saturday 4 January 2014.
Please help us if you can. More details
can be obtained from Noel Clarete or Geraldine
Yebra.
The most cost-effective method for shipping in
bulk to the Philippines is being investigated
and we hope to be able to report further
shipments on their way very soon.
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Generous donation by John Radcliffe Hospital Theatre
staff
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My
deepest
and sincere thanks to all the staff of JR2
Theatres, especially to Debbie Conception and
all those who donated food and drinks and
those who made generous donations during the
lunch fundraising event on 27 November.
FilCom
Oxford
acknowledges with gratitude your cash donation
of £501.50. This money will be used to pay for
the shipment of donated goods to the victims
of typhoon Haiyan. Filcom Oxford ensures all
donations go to those who need them most. We
will send you pictures of the distribution of
these goods in the Philippines. Once again
thank you very much on behalf of the Filipino
Community of Oxfordshire.
Ariel
Lanada
30 November 2013
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First shipments of aid-goods
The
first
major shipment of aid-goods from FilCom Oxford's
storage facility near Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK,
is due to leave on Tuesday 26 November
2013. 25 shipping boxes will be collected
by Phil
Express Ltd for shipping to the
Philippines on the 6th December 2013.
A
small initial consignment of FilCom Oxford
donations was flown out of RAF Brize Norton on
20th November 2013 destined for the Philippine
Red Cross.
Meanwhile, a further truckload of donations
from the Banbury area was received on 25th
November.
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A personal perspective on the disaster by Ariel Lanada
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Like
all
my countrymen living outside the
Philippines, I listened to the news about
typhoon Haiynan with great sadness and also
with great worry about the state of my
family, friends, community and whole nation.
Understandably
there
has been a lot of focus on Samar and Leyte
where the worst damage has occurred.
But there are many parts of the Philippines
which, though not suffering so badly, have
nevertheless had to face death, injury and
widespread damage.
I
am from the island of Panay and I have a
modern, strongly constructed house in the
city of Iloilo towards the south of the
island. Most of my close family live
there. Mercifully, the typhoon did not
cause too many problems. Thankfully no
deaths, trees uprooted, relatively minor
damage and so on.
But of course not everywhere has been so
lucky. I was born and brought-up in a
village about 40km further north, and where
we still have our farm. Barangay Lu-ag (a
barangay is roughly equivalent to a British
village) is one of the 47 barangays
that make up the Municipality of
Duenas. Lu-ag has a land area of 0.97
square kilometres and a population of around
434 (2010 census). The principal economic
activity is agriculture and most
of
the citizens of Lu-ag are subsistence
farmers and/or labourers, working on the
land or at any casual work that they are
able to find.
As a result of the typhoon 63 of the 112
homes in Lu-ag were very badly damaged -
you can see them in the pictures
below. In the wider municipality
there were at least six deaths, flooding,
widespread destruction with hundreds of
people seeking shelter in evacuation
centres.
Further
north,
things are worse still. The
parents-in-law of my eldest nephew live in
Concepcion on the north-east tip of
Panay. This is where Haiyan made
landfall on the island, their concrete
house was destroyed and they lost
everything including all their money (many
people in the Philippines just use cash
and do not have bank accounts).
I
count myself lucky, there are many, many
others with far more distressing stories
to tell. The nature of this
super-typhoon and the havoc it has wreaked
means that few people in or from the
Philippines will be unaffected.
The Philippines will continue to need help
for quite some time to come and full
recovery will take years. If you are
able, please consider making a donation of
money, however small.
With
my
grateful thanks for the truly touching and
overwhelming support given already.
Ariel Lanada
Chairman, Filipino Community of
Oxfordshire
23 November 2013
Update
25 November 2013: Aid is already
making its way to Lu-ag with the delivery of
150 corrugated sheets. The delivery,
organised by Ariel, is the first step towards
helping villagers reconstruct their
homes. The sheets were handed over at
the barangay's church which is currently under
construction.
 
 
Some
of
the damage caused by typhoon Haiyan in
Barangay Lu-ag:
 
 
 
 
 
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Support from the Nepalese Community of Oxfordshire
Ariel
Lanada
was deeply moved to receive a generous donation
from the Nepalese Community of Oxfordshire last
Monday evening 18th November. The gift of
£474 (and there is a bit more to come) was
received personally by Ariel who was able to
discuss with members of the NCO
the situation in the Philippines
and how the funds ought to be used.
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OXFAM Collecting for Philippines in Oxford - Saturday
23 November 2013
Oxford Street
Collection for Philippines - Saturday 23rd
November, 10am-4pm, City centre, Summertown
and Cowley
We are holding a
street collection on the above date to raise
money for Oxfam's Philippines appeal.
If you are able to spare a few hours to shake a
bucket, please email our volunteer emergency
fundraising coordinator, Claire Conway, on
emergencyfundraisingoxford@gmail.com
letting her know your preferred time and
location.
OXFAM |
Massive Donation by Northamptonshire Group
In
a
huge generous gesture, 20 pallets of aid goods
have been donated to FilCom Oxford by a group
which sprung-up almost overnight in
Northamptonshire - moved to help by the reports
of the suffering in the Philippines.
The goods were collected in the Northampton /
Towcester area and delivered to Bell
Plantation Garden Centre in Towcester
on 20th November. They were then
transported in an articulated truck, use of
which was also a donation from E.M.
Rogers European Transport, down to a
storage location near Didcot. A further
truckload full of boxes of donations was
delivered on 21st November.
The group organised by Alexia
Simon and Marie
Wilson, and assisted by a host of
helpers, has worked tirelessly since the news of
Haiyan broke and has amassed donations ranging
from clothes through to food and tents.
The group also arranged a storage facility which
has been lent to FilCom Oxford free-of-charge by
MEPC.
More photos ...
Our heartfelt
thanks to: Alexia and Marie, Bell
Plantation Garden Centre, E.M. Rogers European
Transport, MEPC Milton Park Ltd and all those
who so generously gave their time helping and
all those who made donations.
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Mass for
Philippines at Oxford Oratory 21 November at 6pm:
Dear Ariel,
The Fathers are deeply shocked and
grieved by the terrible Typhoon in the
Philippines and extend their love and
prayers to all who may have been affected
by it.
We are to have a second collection
for the relief effort this weekend, and
also to offer the 6pm Mass next Thursday
(21st November) - the feast of the
Presentation of Our Lady - for all those
killed, bereaved or affected by this
tragedy. I attach a poster if you would
like to advertise this event.
Yours in the Lord,
Fr Daniel
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Generous pledge
from Unison Oxfordshire Health:
Hi
Ariel,
Everyone
in
the Oxfordshire UNISON Health Branch has
been horrified by events in the
Philippines and we would like to donate
£1,000 to the FilCom Oxford Typhoon
Appeal. We want to show that trade unions
are keen to support Filipinos both here
and in Oxford. We have numerous Filipino
members, including Amy Montinola,
who is our Recruitment Officer.
Our
main concern is the dreadful suffering and
misery of so many of your fellow
countrymen. You have the sympathies and
thoughts of everyone at the UNISON Health
Branch.
Regards,
Chris.
Chris
Davis
Branch
International
Officer
UNISON
Health
Branch, Oxfordshire.
14 November 2013
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Fund-raising
dinner at Oriel College, Saturday 23 November 2013:
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Mr
Lanada,
I am Filipino and also the President
of the Oxford Philippines Society.
As
you will be very much aware, the Philippines
has recently been devastated by the
strongest typhoon ever recorded, with
thousands of people feared dead. Whole
communities have been flattened with
hundreds of thousands displaced. 10 million
people are affected and half of them are
children.
I
have organised a formal dinner at Oriel
College, University of Oxford on the 23rd of
November, Saturday 7-9pm to raise
funds for the victims of the typhoon.
Proceeds of the event will go to the
Disasters Emergency Committee. More details
about the event can be found on www.justgiving.com/oxfordphilippinestyphoon
The
cost of the dinner is £30, an amount which
is heavily subsidised by my college.
I
hope that your organisation can support this
event. Please contact me on 07979 143568 for
further details.
Thank
you very much and I look forward to hearing
from you soon.
Yours
sincerely,
Oleri
Galope
Final
Year Undergraduate, BA Jurisprudence.Oriel
College, University of Oxford
13 November 2013
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A message from Rt Hon
Andrew Smith MP:
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Dear Jose Ariel,
I just wanted to express my deepest
condolences at your loss and that of the
whole Philippine community. It is
terrible to see the loss and
suffering. I had been thinking of you,
and then I saw your moving interview on the
television.
I have made a donation to the relief
appeal, and will of course keep a close eye
on the progress of the relief effort, and
the UK’s assistance. If there is
anything I can do to help you or any members
of the community, please do let me know.
With very best wishes,
Andrew
Andrew Smith MP
13 November 2013
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A message from Sir
Jonathan Michael, Chief Executive,
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust:
Dear
Colleagues
I am sure many of us have watched, with
growing concern, the distressing reports from
the Philippines last weekend following the
impact of typhoon Haiyan.
Our thoughts are particularly with our
colleagues in the Trust who have family and
friends in the Philippines. I am sure you will
all join me in saying that our thoughts go out
to them, as well as to all those directly
affected by this terrible disaster in the
Philippines themselves.
Many people have been asking how they can help.
For more information on how you can help,
particularly how you can donate, please see the
Disasters Emergency Committee website http://www.dec.org.uk/.
This is the national appeal that is
co-ordinating all aid on behalf of the UK. You
can either donate to the individual charities
working together in the Philippines through this
website or the Emergency Committee who will
allocate funding appropriately.
Jonathan
Sir Jonathan Michael FRCP
Chief Executive
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust
Trust Headquarters
John Radcliffe Hospital
Oxford OX3 9DU
13 November 2013
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