Please pray for the Philippines
I interrupt my usual icon and graphic posts to send out a plea for help.
As you may have heard, the Philippines was hit last Saturday with the tropical storm Ketsana, locally known as Ondoy. It left behind a trail of devastation far surpassing anything a disaster film could ever produce. People were left clinging to garbage and debris as they tried to get to a safe area. Families were stranded on roofs, among them pregnant women, newborn children, elderly and young children. Electricity, Internet connections and cellphone signals were knocked out in many areas, leaving many frantic in their attempts to contact loved ones. And these are only a few of the stories.
The statistics are on the news - the death toll rising with each new corpse uncovered and estimated amount of damages reaching into the billions. But what cannot be captured by figures alone are the donations and loving help that has poured out from people everywhere. From information dissemination to monetary and material donations to volunteer work, we cannot thank each and every one of you enough.
Still, we need your help. There are a lot of areas that are still covered in waist-deep water, roads filled with mud and garbage, and people that have not been rescued from their places. As if to add salt to injury, right on the heels of Ketsana is another typhoon, the Category Five Parma, locally known as Pepeng.
Here, I implore you, dear friends, to lend us a helping hand. Please pray for my country, and the other countries being battered by these natural calamities. And if you can, please send monetary or in-kind donations to the Philippine National Red Cross, or your local Red Cross. Here are a list of other links for more information and other donation methods:
Awesome compilation of information by greyrook-22
Another awesome compilation by _ligaya_
Disaster Preparedness Kit by neiarc
Photos, art and donation methods by criaze
Photos and donation sites and methods by behindinfinity
Running updates of the situation at tumblr
How to donate and help out!
Compiled list of relief drives in UP Diliman
List of hotline numbers and relief operations
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this post. God bless, and stay safe, everyone!
