Typhoon Ulysses PH Relief Drive
Hello people, it’s me again, ancient_moonshine on ao3. Thanks to you and your generous donations, my friends and I were able to start our own charity drive which primarily seeks to help pandemic-affected jeepney drivers and their families. :D We’re currently aiding 9 jeepney operator and drivers’ associations within Metro Manila, with 637 members total. To date, DIWA has set up four community gardens for four different jeepney operators and drivers’ associations, as well as provided some of the drivers’ children with gadgets and internet for distance learning purposes. Through the Rotary Club, we’ve also coordinated with the Department of Health to provide them with maintenance medicines, and Rebisco food company to give them food packages. In the aftermath of Typhoon Rolly, we’ve also helped out evacuees from Guinobatan, Albay, by providing them with water after lahar buried their homes. Check us out at facebook.com/Diwa Uplifts. However, I have to ask for your help again. I’m sure people have heard about the terrible flooding Typhoon Ulysses caused in the Philippines [international name: Vamco], right at the heels of Typhoon Rolly [international name: Goni]. Our current beneficiaries are drivers belonging to the San Mateo Maly-Philcoa Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association based in San Mateo, Rizal City, and the Tumana-Balara Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association in Balara, Quezon City. The drivers of both JODAs live in Rizal and Marikina, the worst-affected cities in Metro Manila, and many of them wound up with their homes and belongings submerged in floodwaters. These people are now staying in evacuation centers, or living in their jeepneys in their terminals while they fix up the damage to their homes and try to salvage their belongings. I will spare you the images because they’re honestly extremely upsetting, but here are some links to news sites for you to see how bad the damage is: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1359823/typhoon-ulysses-triggers-worst-floods-in-metro-manila-in-years
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/11/13/Marikina-state-of-calamity-Typhoon-Ulysses.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/12/asia/typhoon-vamco-philippines-intl/index.html
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/photo/11/12/20/massive-flooding-in-san-mateo-rizal At the rate deforestation and climate change are going, and given their locations [quarrying and deforestation in nearby mountains and watersheds basically sent water rushing down their slopes and rivers swelling because there were no trees left to absorb it] the problem our beneficiaries are currently facing stands to be a recurrent one. To make matters worse, the quarantine [longest in the world] and the jeepney modernization program have sapped their sources of income dry. Hence, our drive hopes to provide them emergency relief kits and go bags, to give them resources they might not otherwise be able to afford, just in case another typhoon sweeps across Metro Manila. [and there stands to be at least 4 more, this year alone]. We pray they don’t need them anymore, but just in case... Unfortunately, donor fatigue is a thing, and honestly local resources have been sapped dry [Ulysses did not affect Metro Manila alone, it also hit Cagayan, Pampanga, Aurora, practically the entirety of Luzon]. So this is us, the members of DIWA, asking the international community for help. So far a rough estimate of the minimum that our grab bag will cost [food, toiletries, and meds excluded given we hope to get those via donations in kind] are the following: GRAB BAG COSTING PhP110 - 1 clear bag PhP155 - solar flashlights PhP4.36 - 1 whistle PhP14 - 1 roll of tissue Per bag cost: PhP283.36 Total: San Mateo Maly-Philcoa JODA - 50 members x PhP283.36 = PhP14,168 ; roughly USD 294.45 [USD 1= PhP 48. 28] Tumana-Balara JODA - 62 members x PhP283.36 = PhP17,568.32; roughly USD 363.88 *If solar lamps only for Tumana-Balara JODA [depending on our budget, Marikina LGU is comparatively experienced at disaster-preparedness, so priority for the kits is San Mateo]: 62 members x P155 = PhP9,610 [roughly USD199.04] For international donors, our Paypal account is [email protected]. You may find a link to our transparency sheet in the above image, as well as links to our official socmed accounts. Please send me a PM if you wish to donate, and a screenshot of your donation. Unfortunately gifts are closed for the moment since I still have a backlog, but even a simple share means the world to us. ;___; Thank you so much for your support, and may we see better times ahead. Thank you so much. <3
