The Filipinos’ voluntary and immediate response to give whatever help they can give to those who lost their homes and loved ones over typhoon Ondoy still gives me goosebumps. Along with the outpouring of rain in the past few days came the outpouring of compassion among Filipinos.
Empty shelves in Supermarkets are signs of, not panic-buying, but people hoarding boxes of canned goods, instant noodles and bottled water to bring to evacuation centers and establishments where relief operations are being held. #Ondoy and #Philippines being trending topics on twitter shows the concern and active participation of the youth in disseminating information online. Everyone just wants to sympathize, to be counted and to extend help.
Sure, many have given up on the Philippines already, but it is in times like this that I feel most hopeful. I see it as another opportunity for us to be united as a country, to rise above the situation, and to trust that God knows what He’s doing in our lives.
That’s my feet, in the photo, as I stood beside a batch of relief goods that were gathered and repacked this week in church to give to typhoon victims. I know my individual efforts are minuscule, but collectively I’m confident that we — all of us (anywhere in the Philippines and in the world) who took part — made a difference that we wouldn’t have achieved if we all chose to just stay at home, watch the news and do nothing. (Come to think of it, if you’ve been watching the news, you just CAN’T NOT do anything).
How about you? Where have your feet taken you lately?
[This photo was taken as part of the Unravelling E-course I’m taking for the next 8 weeks, how timely it is that the e-course started on this very week.]
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A lot of Filipino families are still trapped in their homes that are still drowned in mud and flood. And that’s on top of another super typhoon, that’s currently in the Philippine territories at the time of this writing, which will surely leave more people devastated. We need as much help and prayers we can get.
To those of you who find it in your heart the burden to help these victims, posted after the jump is a list of establishments and organizations that are currently doing relief operations for Ondoy victims. For donations through Paypal and Credit Card, you can course them through Philippineaid.com.