240 Dead
280,000 Displaced and homeless
$50,000 U.S. response to Philippine Aid
$30 million U.S. military Aid to Philippines
$20,000 GMA’s Dinner bill at NYC’s Le Cirque restaurant in August 2009
P800 million Amount GMA drained from Philippine Emergency Relief Funds and spent on her Foreign Trips
Dear Friends,
This past weekend, tropical typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) ravaged northern Philippines, causing epic flooding to metropolitan Manila. At least 240 people have died, with dozens of others still missing, and nearly 300,000 people are displaced, unable to return to what, if any, is left of their homes. A majority of those affected are the women and children of the communities GABRIELA serves.
Natural disasters like this often have a more devastating effect in the Philippines because of a number of factors, including deforestation and poor public infrastructure resulting from government neglect and corruption. Many of the communities and chapters we, as members of Gabriela USA, work closely with- Tatalon, Bagong Silangan and Commonwealth in Quezon City- are devastated. Families were forced to climb up to their roofs for safety and rescue, not unlike the experience of Katrina victims here in the U.S. a few years ago. In Bagong Silangan, four houses, with whole families still inside, were swept away by the raging waters of the river.
Here is just a small glimpse of the calamity:
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y9OZrlaATY
We have always been proud to serve these communities, and now they need our help more than ever. We humbly ask for your assistance, in any way you can to help these affected communities rebuild their lives. Please view the Ondoy Report on GABRIELA’s efforts to document the effects of the calamity. Babae is undertaking a fundraising drive and our goal is to raise a minimum of $2,000 to send directly to GABRIELA Philippines by this Sunday, October 4. We strongly encourage you to make donations through local grassroots organizations that will directly help affected communities they work with, and not the corrupt Philippine government or Philippine Consulate. For more information on why, logon to: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=496123
If you can spare $5, $10, $20 or more, we would be eternally grateful. You can make a donation by any of the following:
1. Donations can be given to any GABRIELA-USA member. Please make checks payable to BAYAN-USA.
2. To mail your donation, please send to:
Filipino Community Center
Attn: Babae, GAB-USA
4681 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94112
3. If you would like to make an online donation, please logon to BAYAN-USA’s PayPal account at http://bayanusa.org or to GABRIELA’USA’s PayPal account at http://bit.ly/ornJy. If you make an online donation, please let us know how much you donated at info@gabusa.org, so that we are able to track our fundraising efforts.
Thank you so much for your time, and in advance for your compassion.
Sincerely,
GABRIELA-USA