MANILA (UCAN): When Super Typhoon Rai [Odette] struck the Philippines on December 16 last year, it destroyed roads, bridges and infrastructure amounting to a conservative estimate of 28 billion pesos [$4.36 billion]. It also killed 407 people, injured more than 1,140 and wiped out thousands of homes on the islands of Cebu, Siargao, Surigao and elsewhere, leaving residents with no electricity or potable water.
The Caritas and the Jesuit-run Tanging Yaman Foundation were among the first organisations to make their presence felt among people on the ground.
In a December 19 letter, Caritas chief, Bishop Kolin Bagaforo, called on all dioceses in the Philippines to support victims not only in terms of material goods but through prayer.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, meanwhile, appealed for help for typhoon victims and declared December 25 and 26 as national days of prayer for families and communities affected by the mega storm, one of the most powerful to hit the country.
There were second collections in parishes across the country for dioceses worst hit by the typhoon.
Cagayan de Oro Archdiocese, the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Prinsesa in Palawan, and the Diocese of Dumaguete were among the beneficiaries of Caritas’ attempt to cushion the storm’s blow.
‘We at the Jesuit Tanging Yaman Foundation have been gathering basic supplies like soap, water and canned goods because they need immediate supplies like these. Even if they have money, there’s nothing to buy because stores were closed or destroyed’
Father Labiao
Caritas’ executive secretary, Father Antonio Labiao, told the press in December that people urgently needed shelter materials, food, water and medicines.
Father Labiao described the plight of a mother of three children who lost their home which was made out of bamboo.
“Suffering yet fighting for survival for the sake of her children,” was how Father Labiao described the woman begging for food and water not for her but for her children.
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Jesuit Father Manoling Francisco asked people to donate goods rather than money because residents had nowhere to buy them. Stores were closed, banks were offline, markets were destroyed.
“We at the Jesuit Tanging Yaman Foundation have been gathering basic supplies like soap, water and canned goods because they need immediate supplies like these. Even if they have money, there’s nothing to buy because stores were closed or destroyed,” Father Labiao said.
At Ateneo de Manila University, volunteers packed donations for shipment to the hardest-hit areas.
The Tanging Yaman Foundation worked with the Philippine Navy on transporting relief aid. “We sent 30 tonnes of aid to victims. The navy picked it up and took it to the affected area,” Father Francisco added.
From there, the aid was then transported and distributed to people by members of the Philippine Army.
Father Francisco said many of those who dropped by to give donations were ordinary, simple folk. They gave a few kilos of rice or several boxes of sardines.
He remarked that God’s hand was at work when he called the rest of us, rich or poor, to share what we have with the needy. Truly, there is no one so poor that he cannot give. There is no one so rich that he cannot receive.
