I’m Tom an ex-pat who has been living in Cebu City for about a year. I’m south of where the worst of the recent typhoon hit. Give me your money in under 3 minutes using paypal, credit card or those visa/mastercard debit cards. $1, $2, $20, I don’t actually care the amount just send something.
What I will do is physically withdraw it in the Philippines (I’ll cover costs), buy cans of sardines, noodles, water, corn grits or other high calorie high nutritional value food. I will then be involved with the packing and loading of these as ‘survival packs’ which will go on a convoy run by a friend which is shuttling supplies between our base in Cebu City to one of the areas devastated by the biggest typhoon ever to hit land. The youtube video above is of the actual area we’re deploying the supplies to.
Send me a fiver. If you can afford more great I’ve left the form open.
Considering a takeaway meal for your favourite pizza/chinese/thai/whatever costs $20-60 in Australia you can probably spare it. The difference between giving to something on tv and this is you’re giving it over to someone you know who will physically deal with it. If you can’t spare the money ask someone you know who can.
FAQ:
Where will the aid be distributed?
Due to various situational requirements the aid efforts of this group are focused on Bantayan. This is the most northern part of Cebu island. Most of the attention has been on the island of Leyte where the capital Tacloban has been very badly hit. The reality is however, the north of Cebu island is at the same longitudinal position as the southern end of Leyte so they were still pretty badly hit and as I write this almost a week after it happened they, like the people of Leyte, still have no food, no water, no services, etc.
How will the food get there?
Panny, a friend, is an ex-pat who has been living in Cebu for over a decade along with his beautiful wife Marns and their 2 kids (Donnie and ashamedly I don’t remember the other kids name). Tapping into a close group of friends, relatives and employees he organised the sourcing, packing and distribution of food. I got involved because he asked. I have given my time and money already.
Why Panny’s Convoy?
This is a grassroots effort with no overheads paying a corporate structure like many of the aid organisations (who still do good work.. just sayin’). We go to the shop, we pack stuff, we drive/ferry it up to the disaster area.. Panny is providing trucks, security staff and his own time. He, Marns and friends are physically driving to the affected/needy area and giving out the packs. We’ve already delivered one convoy. We’re packing a second. We’re not asking you for cash to get started- we just want to buy more water, more food, more supplies. Retail bottle of water is 20c, after 6 days of no supplies even a litre makes a difference.
What do the typhoon survivors get?
We currently pack 2 cans of sardines, 1kg of corn grit and water into a pack which is designed to sustain a family for a day. We make 2500 of these packs and deliver them. Supplies are changing as there are many groups like us operating and supply chains and infrastructure is ‘developing’ generally. One of the team members Michel has 2 friends who even used their own money to fill a taxi up with supplies to drop them off to local organisations closer to the action.
What other information do you have?
We’ll put whatever information up as it unfolds. Obviously it’s not hippie-latte-tourism where people twitter their way through the bush. We may get photos we may not. I’ve put some up below showing our first and second convoy.
How can I trust you?
Presumably you clicked because you know me. I don’t need the money I expect to come through this page. I’ve donated my time and own money to a point I feel comfortable. Now I’m asking you to do the same.
Why is this on synacy.com?
It’s the company I work for run by my good friend Rhett, and it was the easiest way to put a page with a paypal button up. The infographic was made by one of our designers Edzel and this page/site was made with the help of Johnny and the rest of the web team. This page is live with Rhett’s blessing but should be considered personal (rather than business) in nature.
Send me a fiver. If you can afford more great I’ve left the form open. Considering a takeaway meal for your favourite pizza/chinese/thai/whatever costs $20-60 in Australia you can probably spare it. The difference between giving to something on tv and this is you’re giving it over to someone you know who will physically deal with it. I will literally put the photos up of what gets bought.
If you want, ask your employer if they’ll match the contribution. The way things are shaping up this will be a long relief effort.
Photos:
13/Nov/2013 – Panny making final checks of the completed ‘survival packs’ prior to leaving the next day for Bantayan.
14/Nov/2013 – Loading supplies into Michel’s lead car, destined to our base in Cebu City (Panny’s office) to be re-packaged to individual ‘survival packs’ designed for 1 family.
14/Nov/2013 – My car full of supplies. This is what your donation would be buying. 40 kilos of corn meal (rice replacement) is a bit over $20.
14/Nov/2013 – Michel and my car loaded up with supplies ready to head back to Panny’s office. While we are running supplies to our base in Cebu City, Panny was distributing the first convoy supplies in Bantayan.
Other ways to help
If you prefer not to donate to the convoy through me, consider one of these aid agencies. Be aware however any donations that go into one of these agencies are likely controlled by the government in terms of where and how they are used up.