Plastic clogged the drains, relief goods in plastic will clog the drains even more. The Acacia Waldorf school in Sta.Rosa, Laguna shows us an alternative: packing relief goods (food/meals in particular) using good old banana leaves...
Photo from Dale Diaz shows 500 meals of rice, tuyo and hardboiled egg in "green" packaging.
Other alternatives (taken from calls of help from We Philippines as reposted on facebook): used (but still usable!) blankets, bedsheets, pillow cases, towels, curtains and tablecloths to pack goods with.
First heard about this revolutionary invention that lets people drink filthy floodwater from my dad. Was super excited to read about an initiative by The Clean Water Project to bring the Lifesaver bottle to the Philippines:
The Clean Water Project aims to transform the deadly floodwaters of Typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana) into life giving, pure drinking water. It is a collaboration among old friends who are committed to doing whatever we can do, and work for as long as there is work to be done.
Inventor Michael Pritchard explains how this works:
LIFESAVER bottle removes all micro-biological contamination from water.
LIFESAVER bottle has been thoroughly tested by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine showing that even the smallest of viruses were removed. Download the LSHTM laboratory test results HERE.
The smallest bacteria measures 200NM (nanometres) whilst the smallest virus measures about 25 nanometres. The ultra filtration membranes in the LIFESAVER Ultra-Filtration cartridge have pore sizes of only 15 nanometres, this means that no contamination can pass through into the drinking water.
The pump creates pressure within the bottle which forces water through the membranes leaving the dirt and contamination on the other side of the membranes.
Here's a 10-minute video with Michael Pritchard from TED.com (filmed during the most recent TED Global last July 2009):
Shorter demo video from the BBC here:
More info on the Lifesaver website, where donations for Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) victims are also accepted.
Behind The Clean Water Project are two Pinays: Tish Vallés, a strategic planner, advocate and social entrepreneur based in New York, and Denise Celdran, an artist, environmentalist and advocate. They say that the British manufacturer has "kindly offered a 35% discount on the bottles for relief efforts. For the $100.00 each Lifesaver bottle costs, we will help provide from 4,000 - 6,000 liters of safe drinking water. That is from $0.016 - $0.25 per liter!"
Although help is welcome from all aspects,
We are also very collaborative, and welcome like-minded action-oriented groups and individuals to participate in this project. Please email tish@strategicstiletto.com to start a discussion.
the urgent need is funding, which can be done through paypal, cash or cheque donations. Visit the donation page or email cleanwaterfund@gmail.com for arrangements.
Found through Panjee Tapales (thanks!), who says that the Lifesaver jerrycans, which can "process up to 20,000 litres of clean sterile drinking water without the aid of chemicals," are also coming in December!
Let's spread the word and help getting this initiative going!
Student led donation drive for the victims of Typhoon Ketsana (also called Typhoon Ondoy) in the Philippines. It is a joint effort of students and alumni all over the world including: Columbia, Harvard, INSEAD, MIT, Stanford, UPenn/Wharton, Audencia Nantes SOM, London Business School, University of New South Wales, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, SMU, IESE, AGSM, Berkeley, Yale, Babson, NYU, ESADE, Tuck, Purdue and others.
Drop-off points, donation facilities and mobilization updates by region/country in the discussion boards:
1. Just Help Anonymously
2. Support your socio-civic organization's efforts like Oplan Damayan from Manila Jaycees
3. Support your Alma Mater's relief efforts
4. For Corporations, please donate your products, especially the consumer goods companies.
5. Support TULONG KABATAAN
6. Donate CASH personally to people you know who are affected, especially your friends, clients, or co-workers.
7. Donate your OLD Clothes!
8. Launch your own project like "Philippines Survival Guide (to the End of the World)"!
He cites two helpful reference sites for people who want to donate relief goods:
by Anna Bueno, Newsbreak contributor | 09/29/2009 3:38 AM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/youth/09/28/09/volunteerism-age-facebook-twitter
MANILA - If you entered the Ateneo de Manila University's covered courts on September 28, Monday -- barely two days after typhoon Ondoy flooded Manila -- you would think there was a concert or a grand general assembly going on.
There wasn't.
The multitude of people present was this university's version of Filipino bayanihan, one borne out of repeated pleas for donations and volunteers through Twitter, Plurk, and Facebook, and one that broke our so-called culture of apathy.
It was difficult not to get involved. Two days before, on Saturday, those of us online received word of stranded friends in Ateneo after Katipunan Avenue succumbed to a deluge, rendering the road impassable.
Ondoy then was starting to flood the metro, at a rate that would soon be marked as one of the fastest in Philippine history.
Friends stranded in Ateneo, and even we who were safe at home, lost their cellphone signals, and resorted to posting status messages on our Plurk, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.
In my case, my Facebook was flooded with messages and status updates of friends requesting that we contact their families to see if they were safe, and vice versa.
While I feared for my friends who were stranded, and those who had family members missing, I was equally thankful for those kind souls who offered help on the Web.
Before I knew it, Facebook became a live, updated stream not of quiz results or game updates, but rather of Ateneans -- and non-Ateneans, too -- helping each other contact family members, sending calls for rescue, or soliciting donations for the relief operations that were immediately established in our student leadership center.
This is the same building where our stranded schoolmates slept for the night.
If you compiled all the updates on Facebook, you would not even need to read the news websites. Everything was there: everyone was posting snippets of information; everyone was telling each other where a person could be found; everyone was recommending what would be the best way to help, or otherwise searching for a way.
A friend who's now a reporter for TV posted in his Facebook that it was a great time to be a journalist at this time of crisis, when there are a lot of people that can't immediately be reached by the government and would thus need media intervention.
How to help victims of Ondoy
Ateneo de Manila University's Task Force Ondoy: Info on how to help Other ways to help(via abs-cbnNEWS.com) More photos of the Ateneo effort from Kevin Tatco's Multiply page Share stories of heroism and volunteerism in the face of the onslaught of tropical storm Ondoy. Send them to Boto Mo, Ipatrol Mo: Ako ang Simula.
I say, it is a great time not only to be a journalist, a student, or an Atenean even: it is a great time to be a Filipino. Personal interests are forgotten. Help is enthusiastically offered. And what was important was that people were brought to safety no matter who they were, or whatever background they came from.
The flurry of updates, calls for help, responses to calls for help, carried on in Facebook well into the night. It was hard to sleep with news of block mates whose houses were submerged, or professors whose families are still stranded on the roofs of their houses. But the updates went on.
There were sad stories, as I mentioned. There were happy ones, too: a friend safe and sound in another friend's house, a family rescued by an army truck, news of volunteers gladly helping relief operations in school. The call to participate and do something concrete was not only strong or irresistible. It was what my conscience was pushing me to do.
While posting and reposting updates on Facebook helped in dissemination of information, my hands would be put to better use if I actually helped along with the whole school. I'm sure a lot of us felt the same way, which explained the scene that greeted me today in school this Monday.
The sun was up and shining by the time I arrived in school to volunteer. Students, alumni, personnel -- a whole lot of people -- already were in two lines, each passing a bag of goods to be loaded to a truck.
Most were in blue shirts, in response to the call in Facebook for those who would volunteer. There was a registration booth for all the volunteers. Goods were organized in the different sections of the courts, and one gate was wide open for cars that would bring in donations, and for vans that would be used to transport goods.
Manang's, a cafeteria near Ateneo's covered courts, offered free food for volunteers. Personnel and some students I know who belonged to one school organization cooked lunch for the volunteers. The food and drinks for the volunteers themselves came from donations.
Even after the amazing concern I witnessed online two days before, I was pleasantly surprised to see the love played out before my very eyes. Never before had I encountered so many students willing to lend a hand: to pack instant noodles, help sort out underwear, and lift boxes of goods off to Montalban.
Never before have I seen my classmates, blockmates, friends, raise their hands so enthusiastically when our Sanggunian president asked for volunteers who would clean up the GK villages affected by the flood.
My companions were so eager to be deployed in the areas that they took the initiative to ask those in-charge where they can be deployed in advance, since many volunteers also wanted to go to the affected areas.
Every section of the covered courts -- from the food repacking section, the holding section, the clothes sorting section -- was milling with students who were helping out, and having fun. In the clothes section, for example, some students were enjoying “shopping” clothes for the families who would receive the clothes they were packing.
The food section never ran out of students willing to go around the “conveyor belt” several times to pack food. The students at the “assembly line” -- those who loaded the packed goods to the trucks and vans -- cheered and applauded each other on after each truck had been filled to the brim.
We never ran out of volunteers. You could even say there were too many of us already, that it was advised that some of us transfer to nearby relief centers, or text our companions to bring more relief goods instead, since we were running out.
It was amazing to be part of that crowd working together as one for those in need, and heartwarming to realize that my schoolmates used this day not to make up for class work that was due, but to help.
I have never seen the school like this before.
Two days I ago, I was watching television and was feeling hopeless after seeing a video of a family being carried away by a huge wave of the flood. I still fear for that family. But seeing everyone's energy and generosity today was encouraging. It was something that I would be proud of in years to come, something that changed how I see every person in school, or even those outside it.
Acts of love -- like the one I just saw in full bloom today, in the very community I thought was “apathetic” -- makes me hope, and makes me believe that we can get through this.
About the Author
Anna Bueno is in her fourth year taking up AB Communication at the Ateneo De Manila University in Quezon CIty.
MANILA, Philippines - The United Nations has responded to the Philippines’ appeal for international humanitarian assistance in the wake of massive devastation wrought by tropical storm “Ondoy” over the weekend.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the UN is preparing the issuance of a flash appeal for emergency assistance from both member states and non-government organizations.
The Philippine Mission to the United Nations said Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo met yesterday with the Secretary General to convey President Arroyo’s appeal for international humanitarian assistance.
Romulo also met with Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes at the UN Headquarters shortly after the President issued her appeal for international assistance, through Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., chair of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).
“We are heartened by the assurances given by the Secretary General and the Undersecretary General that the United Nations will take positive action on our request for assistance,” said Romulo, who was accompanied in the meeting by Ambassador Hilario Davide Jr., Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis and Ambassador Libran Cabactulan.
Romulo said the Secretary General expressed his sympathy and condolences to the Philippine government and to the families of the more than 140 people who perished in the floods that also displaced more than 500,000 people in Metro Manila and 25 other provinces.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) also said yesterday it will support relief efforts by the Philippine government by providing vital food rations to around 180,000 Filipinos who are struggling to cope with the impact of Ondoy.
Foreign financial aid
The Australian government, through will give up to A$1 million (about P40 million) in aid to the Philippines as it faces a humanitarian crisis caused by the worst flooding in decades, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Tuesday.
“Australia’s contribution will help with the relief operations of both the Philippine Government and the Philippine National Red Cross, including providing emergency supplies of drinking water, food, clothing, hygiene kits and related essential items,” Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith said.
The South Korean government pledged to donate $300,000 worth of relief goods to victims of Ondoy.
Aside from the South Korean government, the chairman and chief executive officer of the South Korean firm OCI Co. Lee Soo-young donated $50,000 cash to the Philippine National Red Cross.
The European Commission is also providing 2 million euros (P140 million) assistance to Ondoy’s victims.
The Chinese government also pledged $100,000 to the relief efforts. This is in addition to the $10,000 donated by the Chinese Embassy in Manila and $30,000 donated by Huawei Technologies Phils. Inc. to the Philippine National Red Cross.
Mobilizing resources
Filipinos across the United States are likewise mobilizing resources to mount an effective humanitarian response for their unfortunate compatriots at home.
The National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFA) issued an appeal for cash or goods for typhoon victims.
Philippine Ambassador to Washington Willy Gaa said donations could be coursed through the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Philippine National Red Cross.
The Asian American Initiative, a US-based NGO with major humanitarian programs throughout the Philippines, is working closely with the AmeriCares aid organization to step up shipments of antibiotics and oral rehydration tablets for waterborne diseases.
AmeriCares recently shipped $3.2-million worth of medical aid to the Philippines including painkillers, syringes, medical supplies, hand sanitizers and other lifesaving medications which it said could be used to help survivors.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also committed yesterday to donate some $42,000 (P2 million) for the victims of Ondoy.
Aid pours in
The PLDT Group of Companies, including PLDT, Smart, ePLDT and PLDT Smart Foundation, said it has given P10 million worth of aid to victims of Ondoy.
The Davao City government also extended at least P10 million in assistance.
From the Ayala Group, Globe has pledged P1 million each to ABS-CBN and GMA-7, P1 million to Gawad Kalinga, and P2 million worth of goods to Net25, DSWD, and direct to families in Marikina and Rizal areas. It has also set up Libreng Tawag services and hotlines plus Donate-A-Load services for Red Cross. Ayala Aviation has also made a helicopter available to the Red Cross for its rescue and relief efforts.
Nacionalista Party president Sen. Manny Villar said the Tulong Villar Relief Assistance for the victims of Ondoy has delivered 4,023 packs of goods and rescued or transported 3,750 people, bringing the total to 44,773 helped.
“Time is of utmost importance and we want to reach as many people or communities as possible. We have 40 teams dispatched in badly affected areas to provide more help and assistance. Many volunteers are also helping our team’s efforts,” Villar said.
People who need relief and assistance can call the 24-hour Tulong Villar Assistance Hotlines: 0905-3316626 and 0917-4226800.
Meanwhile, evacuees are appealing for sanitary napkins, disposable underwear and diapers to also be included in donations.
The Aboitiz Group of Companies through its 2GO outlets is accepting donations for the victims of Ondoy.
SM Foundation has also activated its calamity response program Operation Tulong Express with donation kiosks set up in all 33 malls nationwide, for the same purpose, while McDonald’s stores in Metro Manila have partnered with ABS-CBN to accept relief goods and donations.
Emergency loans
Government employees in areas affected by Ondoy can apply for emergency loans with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the pension fund for state workers, starting Oct. 1.
GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia announced yesterday that it has allotted P5 billion for the emergency loan program.
Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chairman Noli de Castro also proposed during a Cabinet meeting yesterday the immediate release of government workers’ year-end bonus to help those affected by Ondoy. – Pia Lee-Brago, Jose Katigbak (STAR Washington bureau), Evelyn Macairan, Reinir Padua, Sheila Crisostomo, Edith Regalado, Mayen Jaymalin, Iris Gonzales
Here is a list of ways you can help the victims of tropical storm Ondoy (international code name Ketsana).
Donation drop-off points
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
1. National Resource Operations Center, Chapel Road, Pasay City
Contact: Mrs. Francon Favian
2. Quezon City Area Disaster Resource Operations Monitoring and Info Center (DROMIC) DSWD Central Office
Contact Rey Martija or Imee Rose Castillo, Tel Nos. 951-7119, 951-2435 or Assistant Secretary Vilma Cabrera Tel No. 0918-934-5625
3. Manila Area (DSWD-NCR)
San Rafael corner Legarda Streets, Quiapo, Manila
Contact: Dir. Thelsa P. Biolna, Dir. Delia Bauan Tel Nos. 734-8622, 734-8642 ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya
413-2667 / 416-0387
No 13 Examiner Street, Quezon City, Look for Ms Girlie Aragon
SAGIP KAPAMILYA
Bank: Banco de Oro, Mother Ignacia branch
Acct name: ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.
Acct no.: 563-002-0111
Routing code for international cash donations
BNORPHMM ABS-CBN Branch
Bank: BPI
Acct name: ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.
Acct no.: 3051-1127-75
Routing code for international cash donations
BOPIPHMM ABS-CBN Branch
Drop off center for in kind donations:
13 Examiner Street or Scout Bayoran, in front of Rembrandt Hotel on Tomas Morato, QC and beside Half Moon Cafe, also on Tomas Morato.
ABS-CBN HOTLINE 416-36-41
ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. toll free number: 1-800-527-2820 (for inquiries on how send donations from overseas)
Or check www.abs-cbnfoundation.com ABS-CBN Foundation US Office Toll-Free 1-800-527-2820
Other institutions receiving donations:
UNICEF is accepting cash donations through its Metrobank account: UNICEF C/A 066-7-06631209-3 in response to the victims of tropical storm Ondoy. Call their hotlines at 758-1000 and 758-1442 to find out more ways to send your donations. CARITAS
Domestic Cash Donations can be deposited through the following CARITAS MANILA bank accounts any branch nationwide:
BANCO DE ORO - Savings Account No. 3970006958
BPI - Savings Account No. 3063-5357-01
CHINABANK - Savings Account No. 103-3099715
METROBANK - Savings Account No. 175-3-17506954-3
RCBC - Savings Account No. 3-000-90221-6
UCPB - Savings Account No. 128-162208-7
SECURITY BANK - Current Account No. 0141-019452-001
For overseas donors, please deposit your donation to Caritas Manila-BPI Dollar Saving Account No. 3064-0033-55.
Or PNB Dollar Savins Account No. 108566600025 Ayala Foundation USA
For US based donors who want tax incentives, you may course your donations through Ayala Foundation USA 255 Shoreline Drive, Suite 428,Redwood City, CA 94065, USA or simply click the link (Ayala Foundation USA).
Negros Navigation
from Mr. Edmund Gawchua, Manager
Negros Navigation is now accepting the transfer of relief goods from Mindanao to Manila for free for aid to victims of Ondoy.
Donations can be sent to Negros Navigation stations and offices nationwide. Links to other ways to send in help:
Manuel L. Quezon's blog: How to help (original on Quezon.ph | Tumblr.com mirror link)
Google Docs: Rescue InfoHub Central | List of Places where to donate (check out one nearest your area, or add a donation center that is not on the list)
Another list of where to donate goods via Bury Me In This Dress blog
Google Maps: Ondoy situation map for Metro Manila, by KaninLamig
Sahana FOSS Disaster Management System http://sahana.kahelos.org/
For ways to donate to the Philippine National Red Cross, check out the PNRC web site Reach ABS-CBN via these channels: Multiply: botomoipatrolmo.multiply.com Twitter: twitter.com/botopatrollers Facebook: Boto Mo, Ipatrol Mo official page | abs-cbnNEWS.com Email:ireport@abs-cbn.com SMS/MMS reports: IREPORT to 2366 Bayan Voice BMPM Voice SMS: 411-BMPM (411-2676)
Update as of November 14, 2013: The hoping (and seeking) continues in the #YolandaPH aftermath. Join the hope contagion here or on facebook.
Drop me an email about the miracles you still witness, acts of charity and courage you are a part of, ideas that inspire and move you to love, love, love this country.
Let's fight the good fight for our dear Philippines. Mabuhay ang bagong Pilipinas!
Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines
We've already started talking to each other again as one people. We're looking each other in the eye, regardless of family background, school, occupation, religion, socio-economic class. Let's keep talking to each other. Let this dialogue be a source of healing for ourselves as individuals, and as Filipinos.
Para sa bayan!
If you have a story of hope, an insight, a good deed you did or your friends did, please write about it, link it here, or email it to me (montalut at gmail dot com), and I will post it for you. Share links to inspiring stories, news articles, videos, initiatives to help. Let's build an online community to document this great moment in modern Philippine history. This is it, the time is now--and yes, what an amazing time to be a Filipino!
