Welcome to Ketsana (Ondoy) Relief

Welcome to the Ketsana Relief Efforts

 Typhoon Ketsana (local name Ondoy) was one of the worst natural disasters to hit the Metro Manila area and the nearby regions of NCR (National Capital Region) in recent times, also devastating the areas of Markina, Laguna and Rizal. Men, women, children, animals, including properties throughout the affected areas suffered greatly in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ketsana (local name Ondoy), and their difficulties are still on going today! We must all continue to come together to help the survivors fully recover from this deadly natural disaster.

Casualties included men, women, children, and even animals, property damage is already estimated to be at least $10 billion throughout the affected areas.  While rescuers are still trying to save as many lives as they can, survivors will definitely need food, clean drinking water, clothing, and medical attention.  Now, more than ever, we must all come together to help save as many as we can from this catastrophe.

 How devastating was Ketsana (local name Ondoy)?

Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) tore through the northern portion of the Philippines on Saturday morning, September 26, 2009, and in just 12 hours, is recorded to have brought in at least 13 inches of rain, causing massive flooding, the worst that Metro Manila has experienced in decades.  The death toll has already reached 246, and is still expected to rise in the coming days as rescue and retrieval efforts continue.  500 people are still listed as missing and more than 2 million have been left with absolutely no shelter and means to live. 

Ketsanarelief.com is a joint effort of nation building advocate and poverty alleviation group Gawad Kalinga (GK) and their partners and sponsors in the move to help save and rebuild lives, families, and homes through volunteering work and through donations and pledges.  We urge those who have been blessed and kept safe from the disaster to extend and whatever help they can to the survivors to aid in their recovery and rebuild their lives once again.

Let us come together in these dark hours of Philippine history and show the world that we can be united through our actions, prayers, pledges, and support to bring about the rehabilitation, rebuilding, and healing to those that were most affected by the typhoon.  Truly we can stand proud and true to the Gawad Kalinga theme “Leave No One Behind”.

STORM UPDATES

Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines on Sept. 26, with the resulting floods affecting tens of thousands of people and forcing the Philippines to appeal for international aid. The storm moved on to Vietnam, slamming into the central part of the country on Sept. 29.

By Sept. 29, the death toll in the Philippines rose to 246 while the economic cost was nearly $100 million. In Vietnam, the storm has so far killed 32 people and flooded towns and villages along the country’s long coastline.

Forecasters said a new storm forming in the Pacific Ocean was likely to enter Philippine waters on Oct. 1 and make landfall later on the northern island of Luzon.

The Philippine government has come in for scathing criticism for its response, with many calling it inadequate and delayed.

More than 1.9 million people in the Philippines were affected and 375,000 had abandoned their homes and taken refuge in evacuation centres.

The Philippine death toll could rise further once reports come in from remote areas, disaster officials said.

Three typhoons struck the Philippines starting Saturday September 26 2006 bringing extreme flooding and devastation.  What they showed on TV and  in the newspapers couldn’t have prepared us for the task ahead… all we knew is that disaster struck and we needed to respond.  That’s the GK way you know, no blueprints, no templates, just heroic response!  While most people in the country have already stopped relief work because, well that’s just the way it goes I guess, after 11 days eventually the news gets stale,
“Operation GK: Walang Iwanan” will keep going well into Christmas.  Even after 11 days of feeding the hunger cannot be subdued.   Unlike the homes we build, at least there is something that remains, hunger is only something that passes.  Many of the people we were going too haven’t had any sort of relief in 11 days.  That means that for those who have lost everything, they haven’t eaten properly for almost two weeks.  But they were glad we came! As soon as they saw the trucks people started walking up to the feeding grounds where thousands of them can finally get much needed relief.

I was amazed at our volunteers on the ground!  The burden of: having done this for 11 days, and having to return tomorrow didn’t seem to faze any of them.  There were also some previous beneficiaries there who were familiar with the pains of hunger.  They did what they could to help, but the reality is that of the millions of Filipino’s going hungry today, they would only be going to 7000.  To them it was worth it!  They stood in line passing sacs filled with rice, canned food, spaghetti sauce and bottles of water into the ”Bulldogs”.  Once all fifteen were filled, we were off.  We sat in the back and in my truck was Kat.  She shared with me her story:  (Click the youtube link to watch -2 Parts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8CWz7xFMJs )  The day before while she was doing a feeding with the military escorts, her truck was one of the last ones there.  As people began to realize that there was no more food and her truck was the last, they began to storm towards her truck.  She had just finished passing out bread to an elderly woman when all of a sudden hands came from everywhere to take whatever scraps they can from the old lady.  Kat was in tears and yelled “Lola!!”  She was sharing with me how guilty she felt because she blames herself for the hurt that that Lola went through.  You see the reality is that when people are hungry, their predatory instincts come out, but like a lion in search of their next meal! When people are in survival mode, it’s a battle of the fittest.  This is what we reduce people too when they are deprived of the most basic human needs such as food.

On our way up to the site, the situation was far worse that what they showed on TV, or what I read about in the newspapers.  Nothing could’ve prepared me for it… water absolutely everywhere… whole houses were swallowed up  by the floods!  Streets became rivers and people carried their families in anything that could float.  Walking to their homes were now done through boats and makeshift paddles made from scraps of plywood.  But it wasn’t the fact that people had lost everything, or that their belongings remained submerged, or their clothes were still wet and dirty.  People were hungry! They were desperate for food.  When Kuya Luis told me that they feeding
would continue well into Christmas I was shocked!  I though why would you need to do that?  But when I saw that even after 11 days the waters still haven’t come down, I understood.  So I took my place in the line and began distributing food… the hours passed and the lines never diminished.  We were there for almost 6 hours and I was exhausted!  My back was hurting, my shoulders painful from passing over 4000 food packs so far, I was hungry because by that time it was already 2pm and I haven’t eaten for almost 7 hours, but what right did I have to complain?!  Look at these people who haven’t eaten for almost two weeks… I kept my selfishness to myself and kept on going.  We packed and distributed 7500 food packs that day!  I felt proud at the extraordinary achievement… I can finally say that I fed the hungry, and add that to my list of corporal works of mercy.  But the reality hit me, why should I feel proud?!  The true heroes are the GK people on the ground, because long after I return to the US to tell their story, they will still be here packing and feeding the millions of Filipino’s going hungry every day.

GK heroes leave no one behind during calamity

By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:01:00 10/13/2009

Filed Under: Ondoy, House building, volunteerism, Charity, Relief & Aid Organisations