Relief Operations:

* one family = 5 individuals

One packed bag of relief good: 1-2 kilos of rice, 2 cans of sardines or corned beef or 2 packs of noodles, bottled water (either 2 bottles or a liter), biscuits/loaf bread

Average Amount involved for 200 packed bags: P 20,000-24,000.00

SCHEDULE OF RELIEF ACTIVITIES for the week October 5- 9:

October 5 – Taytay, Rizal
October 8 – Montalban, Rizal
October _ – Sauyo, Quezon City
October _  Another round in Bagong Silang (400 families affected but were only able to distribute 100 packs)

Migrante are in touch with CDRC, NCCP and TFUC and other organizations like KADAMAY so that once the donations will start pouring on so we may be able to cover a larger area and serve more families.

From the Migrante Desk

Typhoon Ondoy has clearly shown that, the Philippines is not just figuratively, but also literally, a sinking ship. Communities which have never experienced floods before experienced chest-deep waters. This typhoon truly devastated not only the urban poor communities but also middle class communities and some upper class communities.

We need not go into the details as we are sure that you have been closely monitoring the news and the internet. However, may we say that the images brought to you by TV or the internet can not capture the immensity of the devastation in MetroManila.

We are no stranger to such devastation as it happens in the provinces: Typhoon Frank, the mudslide in Tacloban, the many typhoons that hit nearby provinces etc… but when it happens at the center of the country where the National Government Offices are within reach, one realizes also the immensity of the ineptness of this government and the depth of its corruption. As the statements of IBON and Bayan-USA crystallized: Where did the ODA go?

Until now, there are communities in Quezon City –IN QUEZON CITY, severely affected by the floods that have not been reached by any government agency. Even the local barangay unit is completely helpless!

Our relief operations in Munoz last Thursday drove home this point. Over 360 families were affected when the creek overflowed. This particular community had put up some kind of dike to protect them from flood waters and the dike had weathered a lot of typhoons. However, it was no match for Typhoon Ondoy. The force of the current and the volume of the rainfall was too much and the dike crumbled. More than 30 houses were completely washed away, while most homes had no roofs, or a whole wall gone etc…  Because the floodwaters rose so fast to over 12 feet, very few people were able to save any belonging as a mad scramble to save their lives and that of their families’ was the prime concern. Sewage water and creek water mixed. One resident died from lepto-sclerosis; she had an open wound in her foot and the dirty waters gave her a severe infection she could not recover from.

The barangay is so near big malls like SM, WalterMart and maybe an hour’s or less ride to the DILG—and yet 4 days after Ondoy, no one from government, nor from the big malls  brought them any relief. MSP’s relief activity was the first time the residents there received some support. Until now, they have not finished cleaning up and residents believe clean up operations will take more about two weeks more. Others have already built makeshift tents. The residents are still somewhat in shock—where will they live, how will their children go to school? Many of them belong to the informal economy and all their livelihood were also washed away. How to rebuild anew?

The immensity of the devastation can be more felt when 14 volunteers of Migrante Sectoral Party (MSP) responded to the call of the MAKABAYAN Party for a clean-up drive in Tumana , Marikina. There were almost a hundred volunteers from various partylist members of Makabayan, including some of its representatives like Teddy Casino and Joel Maglungsod. They had 2 large dump trucks for the trash that they will collect along Tumana. After filling out 2 large dump trucks, the volunteers realized that the trucks hardly moved at all. One pile of trash is, as they called it, “lampas-tao” and completely drenched in mud. The piles were two meters apart and 2 dump trucks only cleared 3 piles. There were also dead animals scattered and many volunteers feared that there were human bodies still buried in those piles of trash. When one sees the trash, one realizes these are remnants of hundreds, if not thousands of lives—now just piles of trash waiting to be thrown away. Each pile of trash is also a pile of a hundred stories of lives, homes and even dreams washed away —a school-bag here, a bed there, milk bottles strewn everywhere… And the stench, according to the volunteers, was almost unbearable.

We are glad to tell you that Migrante was one of the first organizations to be able to conduct relief efforts. 3 days after Typhoon Ondoy, we were ale to solicit enough goods and cash to provide cooked food to Brgy. Holy Spirit and deliver relief goods and clothes in both Holy Spirit and our community in Caloocan.

The swift support of Migrante Taiwan and Migrante Melbourne enabled us to conduct succeeding operations in Munoz and in Tumana. We were also able to repack over 300 goods for our next relief operations on Monday, October 5.

All indications lead us to conclude that relief and rehabilitation efforts will take some time. Already, news reports say that Taguig and surrounding areas can be submerged in chest high waters till December!!! Washed away homes need to be rebuilt. Schools turned evacuation centers need to be repaired. Life will have to move on.

But once again, the disaster that has wrought havoc in hundreds of thousands of lives has also brought out the best in us. We have been given the opportunity to arouse and mobilize those who are difficult to reach. And based on the swift response of the ofws and the organized way our chapters have harnessed that response, we,indeed, have risen to the occasion.

Back here, we are organizing volunteers into repacking brigades, relief operations brigades and operasyon “hanap kamaganak” teams. We enjoin you to provide us with contacts of your relatives so they can also be mobilized to help here.

If only we could convey to you the heartfelt thanks of the victims which your generous donations have helped. So many of our new members have never been more proud that they are part of Migrante.

We shall be regularly appraising you of our activities and report of the donations we have received and how they have been used.