Hello friends and supporters of the Philippines,
On Saturday September 26th, Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) struck the Philippines with the heaviest rainfall recorded followed by the worst flooding in 40 years.
BAYAN-Philippines’ “BALSA” (Bayanihan Alay sa Sambayanan, or “People’s Cooperation for the People”), is calling upon compatriots and sympathizers to gather financial donations for the victims of the Big Flood.
As of this writing, there are at least 100 dead or missing and 435,000 victims who are homeless, injured or have lost all of their belongings. There are still as least 1 million people without electricity. Scenes are eerily similar to “Hurricane Katrina” and President Bush’s response in 2005 (or lack thereof).
President Arroyo’s lack of preparation and priority to acquire hundreds of big rubber boats (officials admitted they only had 13 rubber boats), amphibian vehicles, dump trucks, thousands of life vests and food/medicine kit for our compatriots who are trapped in rooftops has led to a humanitarian crisis.
We are making this appeal for financial support as the current administration is woefully unprepared and unable to help the hundreds of thousands of our compatriots and friends. BALSA will be coordinating efforts to distribute food, medicines, clothing and other basic necessities to help the people through this crisis. Because BALSA is firmly linked with the masses, aid will directly go towards the basic sectors of society – the workers, peasants and the urban poor who make up the majority of the victims (despite media attention that “the poor and rich are equally impacted”).
Please make a donation through BAYAN-USA or a local member organization of BAYAN-USA (see links on sidebar).
Donate Online via Paypal:
Or, donations can be directly deposited into the following account:
Account Name: BAYAN-USA
Account Number: 340-209749-3
Thank you for your support.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Rhonda Ramiro, Secretary General of BAYAN-USA at secgen@bayanussa.org, or Jeff Rice, Finance Officer of BAYAN-USA at finance@bayanusa.org.