Ondoy has literally left countless families homeless and it’s also claimed the lives of hundreds of Filipinos. One of the most inspiring things though that happened was that this spurred the “Bayanihan” spirit of the Filipinos. Rich or poor, people are volunteering to help in whatever way they can. This sense of compassion has spread all over the world and it’s nice to note and acknowledge the aid provided by other countries. What surprised me here though is that Vietnam pledged a huge amount despite the fact that they’re about to get hit by Ondoy as well. Korea also gave a staggering amount. Here’s a list of other countries who’ve contributed to relief operations so far:
Vietnam: $208,333 worth of rice
Japan: $220,000 worth of emergency relief goods
Singapore: US$30,000 worth of humanitarian relief supplies to the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC).
Singapore: US$20,000 in seed money to kick start the Singapore Red Cross’ public drive for donations from Singaporeans for the victims.
Australia: A$1 million (US$874,920) in aid to the Philippines.
China: $10,000 to the Philippine National Red Cross.
Korea: $300,000 worth of relief goods
Korea: Chair of the Seoul-based OCI Co., Lee Soo Young, donated $50,000 in cash to the PNRC
United States: $50,000, and a small number of US Navy personnel were helping in relief efforts
France: 10,000 euros ($14,500) through the PNRC
UN World Food Program: 740 tons of rice aid
UN Children’s Fund: $143,000 in supplies.
World Health Organization: $2,000 relief fund.
I’d like to personally thank all of the leaders of the countries in the list for providing their support to our country at this critical time. It’s a good thing that most of the donations passed through the Philippine National Red Cross. If they coursed it through traditional channels there’s a chance that the donations might get pilfered.
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gotta agree about the pilfering. i too am grateful for their aid, esp since the entire world is still reeling from the effects of recession.