Seniors Raise Thousands for Filipino Typhoon Relief

Hamilton Community News, December 10, 2013

The plight of family and friends back in the Philippines was clearly on the minds of many of those on hand at the annual United Filipino Canadian Seniors of Hamilton Christmas party Nov. 30.

More than 300 seniors raised $5,130 that will be used to help victims of last month’s massive typhoon that left thousands dead and scores of others without food and shelter.

UFCSAH spokesperson Ruby Sarmiento Amog noted the money raised by the seniors is being matched by an anonymous donor and that plus dollar-for-dollar matching by the federal government will bring the total donation to the Canadian Red Cross to more than $20,000.

“This amount will certainly help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines,” Sarmiento Amog said.

The party also marked the launching of the group’s website: ufcsah.org

Local Filipino Community Gives to Haiyan Victims

Hamilton Spectator, December 8, 2013

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4261253-signpost/

The United Filipino Canadian Seniors Association of Hamilton has come through for the victims of typhoon Haiyan, raising $5,130 at its annual Christmas celebration on Nov. 30. The amount has been matched by an anonymous donor to make it $10,260 and that will also be matched by the federal government, bringing the grand total to $20,520. The money will be submitted to the Canadian Red Cross to help those affected in the Philippines.

Hamilton Filipino community planning relief efforts

CBC News Posted: Nov 11, 2013 12:43 PM ET Last Updated: Nov 11, 2013 4:44 PM ET

Residents rush to safety during strong winds brought by Typhoon Haiyan that hit Cebu city. ( Zander Casas/Reuters )

To help Typhoon Haiyan victims:

Red Cross is accepting donations online, at the local office at 400 King Street East or by calling 1-800-418-1111.

GlobalMedic, Mississauga-based medical relief NGO, is collecting donations online for their on-the-ground efforts.

The United Filipino-Canadian Seniors' Association of Hamilton is collecting monetary donations by calling 905.575.8221.

Sagip Kapamilya, a humanitarian foundations run by the ABS-CBN News Network, is accepting in-kind monetary donations online.

The Canadian government will match dollar-for-dollar citizen donations.

On Monday, the number of dead is 942 after Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the southern Philippines this past weekend. That’s the confirmed toll, but officials say the number of dead could reach 10,000.

“There are so many dead strung all over the place,” she said. “They are leaving dead people because they can’t access the remote places for burial... the roads are so damaged.”

Government officials estimate about 9.2 million people in 41 provinces were affected in what might be the worst storm to ever hit the Philippines. The president declared a state of national calamity in his country.

“My Filipino and non-Filipino friends are calling to say, ‘let us know what we can do.”- Ruby Sarmiento Amog

The Canadian government pledged to match dollar for dollar aid from citizens to a registered charity until Dec. 8.

The tight-knit Filipino community in Hamilton of about 6,000 is coming together to collect donations for those desperate for help, as the daunting task of relief and clean-up began on the islands Monday.

Ruby Sarmiento Amog, a local Filipino community leader and member of the United Filipino-Canadian Seniors' Association of Hamilton working to get all community leaders together to come up with a plan to collect aid collaboratively. There are no firm plans yet and she says the community needs to determine the best way it can help.

“My Filipino and non-Filipino friends are calling to say, ‘let us know what we can do,” she said.

Rolly Tanglao, president of the UFCSAH, will ask the 300 guests at the association's annual Christmas party on Nov. 30 to make a monetary donation.

"We're also getting canned goods gathered and clothing," Tanglao said. "How we're going to send it is another question."

“Help is coming slowly because of accessibility,” she said. “There is no land where trucks can get in.” People in Tacloban city, one of the hardest hit areas and the rest of the southern and central Philippines are desperate for food, shelter and water, she said.

People here in Hamilton and the surrounding area are desperate to get in touch with loved ones overseas. Calls, Amog said, are not going through.

Helping their homeland

Filipino community encouraging public to give to typhoon relief 

 By Mark Newman, News Staff 

http://www.hamiltonnews.com/news/helping-their-homeland/

Hamilton Filipino community members Ruby Sarmiento Amog (left), Rolly Tanglao, Elena Tanglao and Dr. Flordicante Cabilan discuss aid to their homeland in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.

The United Filipino Canadian Seniors Association of Hamilton’s annual Christmas party on Nov. 30 is now a fundraiser for victims of Typhoon Haiyan and a recent gathering at the Hamilton Filipino Community Centre collected about $5,000.

Since the massive typhoon ripped through the southern Philippines earlier this month leaving thousands dead and homeless, many members of the local Filipino community have been wiring money to relatives back home and are encouraging everyone to make a donation. “What is really needed now is money because you cannot rebuild with food and stuff, with money you can,” said Ruby Sarmiento Amog, a board member of the Filipino seniors’ organization. Food, clothing and medical aid are all needed, she said and the public can now make a donation to the relief effort at any TD bank branch in Canada. Donors must specify that the money is for the Red Cross relief efforts as a result of Typhoon Haiyan. Amog was amongst a number of local Filipino community leaders who sat down with Hamilton Community News last week.

While they all said they’re grateful for the international aid that is pouring into the south-east Asian country they also noted that a second round of aid is required to rebuild the affected parts of the country once the emergency responders leave. “They need to reconstruct the houses that were destroyed,” said Elena Tanglao, secretary of the seniors group. “They have to replant their crops.” Tanglao noted scores of rice and mangos, food staples in that area, were blown away or washed away by the typhoon. “This is the time when people back home need more on-going support,” said Dr. Flordicante Cabilan, vice president of the Hamilton Filipino Community Centre.

Cabilan said he has relatives in the affected area and as of last week he had not heard from them and is concerned for their safety. Rolly Tanglao, President of the United Filipino Canadian Seniors Association of Hamilton (UFCSAH), noted the local Filipino community is always ready to help following a disaster back home. “We’ve gone through so many disasters in the Philippines, whenever I hear of some disaster or calamity that happens over there a bell rings, that here we go again, they need some help so we’ve got to get going again,” he said.