Being an ocean away from my home country, from my loved ones, relatives, and friends that I grew up with, it has become a habit of mine to hit all the social networking sites to see what they are all up to (in fact, I planned to limit my time on Facebook to an hour in the morning from now on, and nothing more). Instead of browsing through festive family photos or funny Youtube videos, I was greeted by pleas for help, for compassion, for a little concern for the victims of Typhoon Sendong, pegged as one of the deadliest cyclones to enter the Philippines in 12 years.
I woke up today in a comfortable bed, buried in warm blankets and soft pillows, not in a home broken to pieces. My body felt sore because of exercise, not because I was buried in rubble caused by a landslide. I had a hot shower and a decent breakfast while many have no clothes, or shelter, or food, or toiletries and medicine. I had a whole day ahead of me, while others mourned for their losses.
Sometimes it takes a tragedy to make one realize how lucky he or she is. Sometimes it takes a calamity to wake you up to the reality that life is short and that everything can change in a mere moment. It makes you humble and grateful that you were spared and given an opportunity to live your life the way you want to….that you were given an opportunity to help and make a difference, no matter how small.
This is a collection of various ways to help the victims of Sendong from anywhere in the Philippines and around the world as well. I chose to donate through Red Cross Philippines, which accepts all forms of help. Nothing is too small—if only all my Facebook contacts donated 5 pesos (today, that’s 0.1140 US dollars, not even a quarter!), that’s 6225 pesos (142 US dollars). That’s enough to provide for a couple of families. If it is true that there are 25 million Filipinos on Facebook and each one donates 5 pesos to Red Cross, a total of 125 million pesos can be raised for Sendong victims.
Imagine being part of that.
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