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GULFWEEKLY today urges its family of readers to support the many initiatives being launched in Bahrain to help the stricken people of the typhoon-devastated Philippines.
The kingdom boasts a large Fillipino workforce and members of its community have been stunned by the damage caused by the storm and the tragic loss of lives in their home country.
Authorities estimate more than 3,900 people were killed when Typhoon Haiyan, one of the largest ever recorded, made landfall and the sea surged ashore on November 8. Dazed survivors have been left desperate for water, food, medicine, shelter, hygiene and sanitation.
Philippine authorities, the US military and international agencies face a mounting humanitarian crisis, with the number of people displaced by the catastrophe estimated at four million, up from 900,000 late last week.
This week a rallying call was made to the people of Bahrain and its expat community to support impressive initiatives to help collect much-needed essential goods and raise funds.
In light of the tragedy, Filipino community campaigners staged a conference at the Sheraton Bahrain Hotel in Manama on Monday night inviting organisations to come and be part of a charity drive.
“Our message can be coined in one word: HELP! The destruction that Haiyan brought to our home country is massive and we need all the help that we can get. Be it cash, used clothing, canned food, medicines – we need every ounce of help available out there,” said Leslie Garduque, newly-elected president of Phenomena Productions, a socio-civic, non-profit organisation established in 2007. The group addresses pressing social issues and provides a creative venue for empowerment to Filipino women residing in the kingdom.
“Words are probably not enough to describe how we all felt when we heard the news of the tragedy. But we all shed a tear or two.”
Invited panellists included different heads of Filipino organisations and community groups in Bahrain and they outlined numerous programmes and charitable activities lined up to help raise funds and seek support for the typhoon victims.
She added: “We also want to make an appeal to non-Filipino communities and organisations here in Bahrain to help The Philippines. Haiyan left a big part of our country in shambles and we will need a lot of resources to rebuild what was lost. Every bit of help counts. We welcome any help that we can get.”
The appeal has been heard and is being answered. Scores of boxes from well-wishers containing vital supplies are already being dropped at Bahrain Rugby Football Club (RFC) in Janabiya, for example, in support of DHL, an international company owned by Deutsche Post World Net with a long-established regional base in the kingdom, which has responded magnificently to the challenge.
DHL Express country manager Rafat Zourgan said: “We are collecting donations to deliver them to the areas in the Philippines mostly affected by the Typhoon, like Tacloban Leyte, Cebu and Panay.
“It is unbelievable the amount of donations received; we are pleased about the success of this campaign. The best part of putting together an initiative like this is getting to see how keen people are to help. It is overwhelming and we’re very grateful to everyone that has donated for making a difference.”
Items, such as blankets, clothes, canned and dry food, plus water canisters, can also be dropped off at all DHL Express service points, the British Club of Bahrain, St Christopher’s Cathedral and Sacred Heart Church.
Rugby Club chairman Mehdi Honar said: “We are determined to help in any way we can, it’s just the right thing to do. We have Filipino members of staff who have been deeply affected by the disaster and we must rally together in such circumstances.”
Around 40,000 Filipinos are said to be living in Bahrain.
Haiyan slammed central Philippine islands with 314kph winds, causing tsunami-like storm surges that swallowed nearly the whole of Tacloban, once home to 220,000 people, in Leyte and Guiuan town in Eastern Samar. Nearly 95 per cent of the deaths from the typhoon came from the two areas, where an estimated 70 to 80 per cent of structures in the path of the storm were reduced to matchwood and rubble.
DHL has sent members of its Disaster Response Team (DRT) to the area to help with on-the-ground airport logistics by setting up a warehouse to help sort relief goods. The aid is being transported to the people in need as quickly as possible.
“The situation, in particular in Leyte province, is simply devastating and there is a critical need to provide food and water to the people affected as quickly as possible,” said Deutsche Post DHL CEO Frank Appel.
“Our DRT is trained to provide logistics support to the relief effort at local airports following a natural disaster and we welcome this opportunity to contribute our knowledge and skills now in the Philippines.
“We can make a difference with our logistics expertise at a crucial point in the relief effort and help to ensure swift and organised handling of all incoming materials.”
DRT will handle incoming freight, make a full inventory and ensure the speedy loading of the most critical supplies onto trucks or helicopters. Because roads are blocked or completely destroyed – and because regular access to the smaller islands is limited – the team has provided so-called DHL Speedballs, special bags with basic relief goods that can be dropped from helicopters. At the moment, Philippine airport staff is packing 300 Speedballs a day to be distributed to the affected region.
Ramee Grand Hotel & Spa, Seef – Bahrain, has also stepped in to help. General manager Salvatore Romano said: “We all feel saddened by the events that have occurred in the Philippines and it is our moral responsibility to undertake such measures to contribute, at this time of need, for the distressed.”
Emergency relief aid for the victims started pouring in from the employees the day Typhoon Haiyan struck, consisting of clothing, blankets, food containers and other non-perishable items. All relief items have already been dispatched via cargo to the Philippines Red Cross.
Fund-raising community events planned include a sports festival in Muharraq on November 29 – call 39848737 for more details; and a Miss Festival Queen contest at Delmon International Hotel on December 6.
Philippine Ambassador to Bahrain Sahid S. Glang was moved by the action being taken. “I am heartened by the outpouring of sympathy and support from the Filipinos in Bahrain, the expatriate community in the kingdom and the Bahraini government and people, for the victims of the typhoon,” he said.
He praised the quick response from his fellow countrymen and women. “The different Filipino community organisations, including the Filipino Club-Bahrain, have organised relief drives and donation campaigns for the victims, even without the prodding or call for assistance from the Philippine Embassy, which only shows that the spirit of volunteerism, ‘bayanihan’ and love of country is very much alive in their hearts and minds,” he added.
The ambassador also thanked the Bahraini government for its pledge to send humanitarian assistance to the Philippines to aid in the relief and rehabilitation efforts of the Philippine government.
Bahrain has officially conveyed its intention to send up to 90 tons of relief assistance to the Philippines as soon as practicable, consisting of food parcels, personal hygiene items, blankets, tents, generators, towels, pillows, bottles of water, water containers and mats, he revealed.
Bahrain also plans to set up a health centre in the affected area in the near future.
