TWO THOUSAND plastic bags of food and clothing, 400 boxes of undergarments and footwear, 45 boxes of hygiene-related materials, and 940 kilos of rice were flown July 4 to Bulig, Iloilo as donations for the victims of typhoon Frank.
The donations were delivered through Task Force Noah—a team that provided relief to Frank’s more than 360,000 victims in the Visayas.
Task Force Noah is composed of the Sanggunian branch of the Ateneo Disaster Response and Emergency Management (Dream) team and Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB).
Typhoon Frank hit the Philippines on the third week of July, and caused millions to lose lives, homes, and properties.
‘Overwhelming’
The Ateneo Dream team started the collection of donations for the typhoon’s victims last June 24. These collections were a collaborative effort of the different organizations, departments, offices, and groups inside and outside the Ateneo.
Aside from the goods gathered, the Dream team also managed to produce a monetary donation of P108,195 in a span of 9 days through collections.
“Overwhelming talaga yung support ng students and napakadaling humingi ng tulong (it was very easy to help),” said Rob Roque (II BS Ch MSE), Head of the Sanggunian Committee on Social Concern and External Affiliations. Roque said there was more student support for typhoon victims this year.
Ateneo Dream Team Committee Head Kurt Cendaña (II AB IS) said they were able to mobilize people through email and text blasts, which were meant to spread awareness for the typhoon-stricken victims.
The team conducted room-to-room collections of donations. Volunteers carried cans to different classrooms to ask money from students.
Several student organizations, faculty departments and offices, and food stalls in the Ateneo also gave and helped pack goods for the typhoon victims.
Flown by plane
Volunteer students and faculty started packing donations last July 1 at the Cervini Quad.
These donations were loaded to a C130 plane and sent to Ateneo de Iloilo last July 4. Some volunteers, including Dream team Co-convenor Bro. IJ Chan-Gonzaga SJ, also went to Iloilo to help in distributing the goods.
Sanggunian President Omi Castañar (V AB DS) said that around 30 volunteers helped pack the goods per night. Volunteers, consisting mostly of dormers from the Ateneo Resident Students Association and members of the Sanggu, stayed overnight to pack goods.
Severely hit
Roque said the team chose to help Iloilo based on the availability of contacts within that area.
“We also chose the site based on the severity of the disaster and the possibility of sending help to the area,” Roque added in mix of English and Filipino.
Iloilo was one of the provinces severely hit by typhoon Frank. In a text message (dated July 4) posted in Castañar’s blog, Chan-Gonzaga said Iloilo was badly hit and 95% of the area was still muddy.
Chan-Gonzaga, said, however, that they will help not only Iloilo but also other areas affected by the typhoon.
“We are also sending help to Baseco, Aklan, Antique, and Romblon,” he said.
Roque said that they would also be helping the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela) area.
Castañar is also looking into collecting donations even when there are no disasters.
He said that it’s crucial to ask for donations beforehand to provide immediate relief to those hit by a disaster.
“After [these] relief operations for the victims of typhoon Frank, we’re proceeding with campaign for donations before disaster, yung impukan system,” said Castañar.
