Reposted and edited from my dear friend in Philippines
Following the recent devastation caused by the recent typhoon in the Philippines...
The principal of Marilao Central School is the aunt of my good friend; the buildings may still be standing, but the contents of most of the school's 40 classrooms have either been washed away or rendered unusable by the flood.
Having very little to give by way of material things, my friend's family pitched in by starting an online campaign. They made a few websites:
http://helpmarilaocentral.philsites.net
http://helpmarilaocentral.blogspot.com
http://flickr.com/photos/helpmarilaocentral
They've also quickly cobbled together a YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLZ_RiFcPGo
and a Facebook cause:
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/374812/43128447?m=7f359208
Please help out by spreading the word. If there are any donations that the school couldn't use, they could go to the students and teachers who were also badly affected by the typhoon. Quite a few students and teachers still can't attend classes for various reasons.
***
Frankly, things are bad all around in my friend's town. There are people living in flimsy tents along the highway because they can't go back to their underwater homes. Fresh, clean washing water is hard to come by even if you have a deep well motor. Evacuation centers are so crowded and polluted that they're barely habitable.
Even the local barangay captain (the lowest level elected official in Philippines) suffers from leptospirosis, although it was dealt with in time. Two other residents are not so lucky. One is struggling with the late stages of the disease. The other, a young person, has died because the family couldn't afford the dialysis, which is the costliest part of treatment.
It will definitely take a while before all of this stabilizes. My friends community would be grateful for help where and when we can get it.
The principal of Marilao Central School is the aunt of my good friend; the buildings may still be standing, but the contents of most of the school's 40 classrooms have either been washed away or rendered unusable by the flood.
Having very little to give by way of material things, my friend's family pitched in by starting an online campaign. They made a few websites:
http://helpmarilaocentral.philsites.net
http://helpmarilaocentral.blogspot.com
http://flickr.com/photos/helpmarilaocentral
They've also quickly cobbled together a YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLZ_RiFcPGo
and a Facebook cause:
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/374812/43128447?m=7f359208
Please help out by spreading the word. If there are any donations that the school couldn't use, they could go to the students and teachers who were also badly affected by the typhoon. Quite a few students and teachers still can't attend classes for various reasons.
***
Frankly, things are bad all around in my friend's town. There are people living in flimsy tents along the highway because they can't go back to their underwater homes. Fresh, clean washing water is hard to come by even if you have a deep well motor. Evacuation centers are so crowded and polluted that they're barely habitable.
Even the local barangay captain (the lowest level elected official in Philippines) suffers from leptospirosis, although it was dealt with in time. Two other residents are not so lucky. One is struggling with the late stages of the disease. The other, a young person, has died because the family couldn't afford the dialysis, which is the costliest part of treatment.
It will definitely take a while before all of this stabilizes. My friends community would be grateful for help where and when we can get it.