I would like to encourage readers to make a donation to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (aka Yolanda) in the Philippines.
Any amount -even $10- can go a long way to help provide food, water, and shelter to those who have lost everything. Below you will find links to worthy organizations who are helping the good people of this beautiful country recover.
Thank you and God Bless.
The American Red Cross
has launched a family tracing service among other aid operations. If
you are unable to reach a family member in the Philippines, you can
contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross to initiate a
tracing case. Representatives added that it has deployed two people to
assist with assessments in the Philippines. It asks those who want to
support relief efforts to mail a check to their local American Red Cross
chapter, with "Philippines Typhoons and Flood" in the memo line. Go to
redcross.org for local chapter information or redcross.org.ph to donate
directly to the Philippine Red Cross.
The Philippine Red Cross said it has mobilized teams on the ground to help with rescue and relief operations. Click the link to learn more.
UNICEF
is taking donations to help provide children with shelter, clean water,
nutrition and vaccines. Representatives said its staff in the
Philippines is being repositioned to help in relief efforts and 66 tons
of emergency supplies are being sent from Copenhagen. An airlift set to
arrive on Tuesday will include water purification systems, storage
equipment and sanitation supplies. Donations can be made to UNICEF at
unicef.org/support.
World Food Programme (WFP),
a United Nations organization, said it will send more than 40 tons of
high energy biscuits and work with the Filipino government to help with
logistics and emergency communications systems. Representatives said
they have allocated $2 million for the disaster response and officials
joined an assessment mission to survey damage in Leyte and Samar
provinces. It asks for donations at
www.wfpusa.org or by texting the word AID to 27722 to instantly donate $10.
The International Rescue Committee
(IRC) has launched a $10 million appeal and sent an emergency team to
Manila who have already started to work on the ground. For more
information, visit
www.rescue.org.
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors
without Borders) has organized teams of doctors, nurses, surgeons,
psychologists, water and sanitation experts and other specialists to
respond to the typhoon’s aftermath. The organization is also dispatching
nine cargo planes loaded with tons of water, sanitation and medical
supplies. The humanitarian cargo includes medical kits for treating the
wounded, equipment for medical consultations, tetanus vaccines, relief
items such as tents and hygiene kits, water and sanitation equipment
and, if needed, an inflatable hospital, said spokesman Tim Shenk. Some
of the group’s medical teams were already in place in Cebu Tuesday, but
blocked roads, a damaged airport and bad weather have made access to
affected areas particularly difficult. Click the link to see how you can
help.
Save the Children is also mounting disaster relief efforts to help children and families in the region with emergency assistance.
Catholic Relief Services is accepting donations on its website as it begins moving supplies and staff to respond to the typhoon.
World Vision
said it will provide food and water to those in evacuation shelters.
Representative said it is putting together resources to assist 1.2
million people, including food, hygiene kits, emergency shelter and
protection. It asked for one-time donations to be made at
worldvision.org.
Habitat for Humanity plans to offer shelter repair kits for families who need to re-build their damaged houses.
Operation USA said it will allocate donations directly to relief and recovery efforts.
National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) has created a disaster relief fund for victims in the Philippines.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee has begun collecting donations for relief efforts. To contribute, go to
www.jdc.org or call 212-687-6200.
Mercy Corps is accepting donations on its website as emergency responders move food, water, shelter and other supplies to the region.
ChildFund International
has been in the Philippines since 1954. The organization is
distributing clean water, food and other household items to victims of
the typhoon. It is in the process of setting up child-centered spaces in
evacuation centers to provide counsel and relief to children and
families affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan.
International Medical Corps
deployed an emergency response team of medical personnel and sanitation
experts to the Philippines to and is accepting donations through their
website in
order to ship medicine, clean water and food. They are also asking for
$10 donations by texting MED to 80888. Infection control is a priority
“to keep those already healthy, healthy,” and “medical and social
interventions are needed,” to help those who have been injured and
displaced,” said Noel Miranda, leader of the Philippines team.
The Salvation Army is also asking for $10 donations by text. One hundred percent of money donated by sending TYPHOON to 80888 or through their
website will be used to sort, ship and distribute donated goods.
Direct Relief
has shipped 1.5 tons of medicine, nutritional supplements and first aid
supplies to the Philippines and hope to ship more with the help of
donations through their
website. They have also partnered with
Team Rubicon, a veterans’ disaster response organization, who is helping Direct Relief drop off portable kits to displaced survivors.
Apple has created
an option in the iTunes Store allowing iTunes customers to donate, and
iTunes will transfer 100 percent of donations to the American Red Cross.
Donor support will provide shelter, food, emotional support and other
assistance to victims of all disasters.
Google has also launched a person finder.
AT&T and Verizon are
offering free calls and texts to the Philippines for customers trying
to contact friends and family there in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.
Mammoth Medical
brought a team of surgeons, doctors and medical support volunteers to
the Philippines. The group is equipped with three surgical teams and
more than 30 parcels of medical supplies as well as a self-contained
surgical tent. Click the link for more information.
Oxfam
teams on the ground are reporting an urgent need for food, clean water,
medicine and shelter. Teams are ready to deploy water and sanitation
materials to those affected but need help to scale up their response.
Team Rubicon is
working to facilitate search and rescue efforts and provide medical
triage for a field hospital in Tacloban. Click the link for more
information.
. Other possible online sources include foreign sources such as Russia
Today (RT), BBC, or other international sources. Some sources may be
geo-blocked, however. Two other sources for coverage online are http://www.superusvoxtv.com/ and http://www.ilive.to
