Reposting - Hunger Strikes

UN food agency says 200 million more people hungry
By ROD McGUIRK (AP) – 7 hours ago
CANBERRA, Australia — Most of the developing world is paying more for food despite drops in commodity market prices during the global economic slowdown, with 200 million people joining the ranks of the hungry in the past two years, the U.N. World Food Program said Monday.

The agency's executive director Josette Sheeran blamed climate change, escalating fuel costs and falling incomes. She said the number of "urgently hungry" had now reached its highest ever — 1.02 billion.

"One out of six people in humanity will wake up not sure that they can even fill a cup of food," Sheeran told reporters. "We have to make no mistake that hunger is on the march."

She said while prices had tumbled on global commodities markets due to the financial crisis, the prices of most food staples in the developing world have soared.

"The food crisis is not over. We have an anomaly happening where on global, big markets, the prices are down, but for 80 percent of commodities in the developing world, prices are higher today than they were a year ago, and the prices a year ago were double what they were the year before that," she said.

"What it means is for about 80 percent of the developing world, people can afford one third as much food today as they could two or three years ago," she said.

Sheeran signed Monday a 140 million Australian dollar ($130 million) four-year aid agreement with the Australian government. The agreement includes AU$40 million to provide school meals in Southeast Asia, Africa and possibly South America and will add to the WFP's overall budget for global food aid.

Sheeran, who flew to Canberra from Manila on Sunday, said the Philippines could lose up to 1.1 million tons (one million metric tons) of rice because of the recent typhoons.

Africa and India were also losing crops due to drought and floods.
She said the two back-to-back typhoons in late September and early October that killed nearly 1,000 people in the Philippines, coupled with the Indonesia earthquake that killed more than 1,000 on western Sumatra and the recent tsunami that killed 183, mostly in Samoa, were examples of natural disasters becoming more frequent and ferocious in recent decades.

She said there had been a fourfold increase in the number of natural disasters in the past 20 years.
"All we know is that the world is facing increasingly frequent and ferocious natural disasters and the most vulnerable people and nations are getting hit hard and we better prepare now," she said.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Google Alert - philippines typhoon news

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Tonight: Former Guam Governor's Birthday Bash To Raise Funds For Typhoon ... Guam News Factor Gutierrez, who is a declared contender for the 2010 Governor's race, is still raising funds for the Philippines' typhoon relief efforts, along with his ... See all stories on this topic

The Associated Press Black Eyed Peas singer brings aid to Philippines The Associated Press The worst flooding in 40 years struck the rice-growing northern Philippines and the capital Manila late last month when a typhoon after a storm dumped heavy ... See all stories on this topic

Canadian special immigration measures for Philippines typhoon victims Workpermit.com There will also be priority processing of temporary residence applications of those adversely affected by the Typhoon. This is on top of the $5 million for ... See all stories on this topic

Calling All Angels - Donates to our Quest

The King's has decided to support our quest. With their generosity, every single purchase of an angel, a dollar or a euro will be donated to Project: Noah's Ark.

We hope to generate funding through this generosity. Please help us advertise it.

The season of giving is soon to come. Their items would be a very nice christmas gift.

Check out their blogsite:

http://kingsbeautifulangels.blogspot.com/

Mention: Project: Noah's Ark for every purchase.

Thank you,

Michaela De Angeli

A word from a volunteer - GVN site

Here's an article I found on the web via GVN press. It's a first hand information that I would like to share with all of you. Hearing it form the news seem profound but hearing from it those who specifically went there to help is beyond expression.

Loss in the Philippines
By Shafaq Varghese October 2009

A volunteer's reflection in the wake of typhoon Ketsana

Visiting the areas affected by the flooding was a heart-wrenching experience. The devastation was limitless. In one of the hardest hit areas, numerous houses, which had originally been built alongside a major river, had been flattened and the homeless victims were scattered on the streets living in temporary spaces made up of plastic sheets tied together with thread. Garbage, which was basically household items destroyed by the flooding, was piled up on every street corner and outside every house. It was obvious that anything these residents owned, in an already poverty-stricken area, had been washed away or spoiled by the flood.

In one street corner hundreds of people were standing in the sweltering heat, in lines that stretched around several blocks, to receive aid from their local community leadership. I was sceptical on whether enough aid would be available for the hordes of people waiting.

The family we visited to provide aid to had lost everything they owned in the flood. Their house had been submerged in water and they had survived by taking shelter in their neighbour's two-story house. Every single piece of clothing and furniture this family owned was covered with thick mud. They had no food, no drinking water or clean clothes. And even though they had started the cleaning process, it was obvious that in the absence of proper nourishment and basic amenities, it would be weeks or even months before they would be able to have a normal life again.

The same story was repeated in the hundreds of other houses that we passed by. From the families scavenging through their destroyed goods for items they could still make use of, to the one living inside a truck because they had lost everything, to the group of people holding a vigil on a bridge for a drowned child, everywhere I looked, the only thing visible was utter destruction and suffering.

In the three and a half hours that we surveyed the area, we saw just two aid operations in progress, one through a UN agency and the other through Red Cross. From the size of the trucks and the number of victims standing in line to receive aid, it was clear that the rations provided by these aid operations would be inadequate. Worst still, there wasn’t a single medical program in progress to provide temporary medical care or check-ups to the victims. With millions of dollars worth of aid coming into the Philippines just for the sole purpose of providing food, water, shelter and medical care to the victims of the flooding, I wondered where the money was being spent if not in the area with the highest number of casualties.

Clearly, the government and other aid agencies need to take additional steps to reduce the suffering of the people affected by the flooding, most of whom are now living on the streets and are highly susceptible to diseases, mal-nutrition and probable death. This includes, first and foremost, providing additional food, clean water and medical help, in order to prevent further fatalities and the spread of diseases. Rebuilding the houses and cleaning the streets of the loads of garbage scattered everywhere would be the next significant step. These must then be followed by providing safer and more stable housing in the areas more prone to rain and flood damage, in order to prevent such widespread disaster and loss of life in the future.

Shafaq Varghese, Philippines volunteer
PHILIPPINES DISASTER RELIEF FUND: Please consider a donation today
http://www.volunteer.org.nz/media/articles/ketsana.php

Gawad Kalinga Philippines

I would like to share with you the efforts of my fellow batchmates who are in the Philippines. Their group is called CSA GK. CSA for Colegio San Agustin and GK stands for Gawad Kalinga.

Here is their latest post:

Folks, I sat down with the folks working on our CSA GK GK Village today. Quick update: our site is above water, but surrounded by flooded areas. It is now a relief center. Taguig is half-submerged. GK Taguig is helping about 5,000 families-that 's 25,000 people (5 per family) who have had no water, light, food, dry clothing, and a dry home to live in the past week. Many are getting desperate as they are day laborers who can not work (can not travel, no money, guarding home, etc.). Visiting LGU officials have been stoned. GK delivered relief goods on 6 x 6 trucks and military escorts.CSA has been donating (3x last week) and helping out. Last Tuesday, some of us arranged the delivery, On behalf of Enderun College, a truck full of goods. Today, we collected 4 mini-trucks full of dry goods, food, water, clothes, etc. as well as cooked 300 / packed meals again courtesy of Enderun College, and had it delivered to the command center in Bgy.Pinagsama GK Taguig, Taguig. From the Angel Brigade group working at The FORT, we got 22 boxes of medicines for the medical mission to be held at the CSA GK Village site tomorrow, Oct. .. 4, noon Sunday 8 a.m.-12. What we can do, aside from the usual donation of relief goods, for GK Taguig / CSA GK Village: 1 Provide trucks or facilitate the delivery of goods to affected areas surrounding CSA GK Village; 2nd Those with military contacts, request Army trucks to deliver goods under armed escort as people are getting desperate and unruly, 3 Identify groups or areas with lots of relief goods collected, but can not deliver them to the targeted areas. For example, many groups committed to pick up the food / goods from Enderun, but never showed up today. That's why we were able to get most of those goods, and, 4 share relevant information on transportation, sources of goods, contact persons, etc. As someone wrote, this will be a marathon, not a sprint relief, Aswat effort levels are receding slowly. The rains from Typhoon PARMA today want to complicate matters. CSA GK Village will be needing our assistance, being the focal point of relief efforts in that area. Contact me at 0917.904.8207 if you are interested in helping the CSA GK Village. Our contact person is Taguig GK Raul Ramiterre (0919-229-1416) salamat at mabuhay! Hecky

Thank you,

Anna Gatchalian

A message from a friend

As happy as I am to see some of my beloved ones online in Facebook. In which I had hoped they are doing fine. However, when I asked about the current situation this is the reply I got:

It is bad. some places here in metro manila like pasig and marikina which was badly hit by Ondoy typhoon is still flooded. Not as high but there is still water. Typhoon pepeng, on the other hand, hit the north badly. Pangasinan, Cagayan, Baguio, Benguet to name a few. And yes, Philippines do need help. A lot of families lost their houses and stuff and businesses, not to mention, lost some lives. People do need clothings, food, meds, money to start anew. It is an awakening. Thank you for the concern. Hopefully there are millions like you out there.Be safe.

From the staff.
Michaela de Angeli

Effects of the Typhoon should be a wake up call

Quoted from the news:

It started as a tropical depression and hit Metro Manila with torrential rains that left most metropolitan residents
dumbfounded. According to PAGASA (the Philippine weather bureau) the amount of rainfall the National Capital Region would get in a month would fell in a span of just 24 hours.
In the past couple of years, Philippine climatologists they have noticed changes in weather patterns across the archipelago, tropical storms that move in ways not previously seen, and also their increased frequency as well as intensity.
Although climate change appears the likely culprit behind all this strange weather, there are still those waiting for more definitive evidence, while the vast majority simply fail to see any connection between their ecology-damaging behaviour and the changes occurring in their environment.
The indiscriminate clearing of forests, the paving-over of wetlands and mangroves, the infusion of toxic chemicals in the soil, rivers and lakes, the dumping of trash and refuse wherever convenient;
all these acts seem to have no correlation with Nature's angry wrath as far as most are Filipinos concerned.
Unfortunately, to many foreigners, and even many returning Filipinos who view things from a different perspective, the metropolis appears little better than a pigsty. Sure, you have the malls and the ritzy enclaves, however those are but islands surrounded by a sea of filth.
In fairness to all, it is next to impossible to keep any place neat and tidy when there is a lack of basic necessities: clean running water, electricity, a working sewage system, and a properly built roof over one's head, not to mention law and order. And the problem is compounded when you have two or three large families living in a space normally allotted for a single person.
But as bad as Fillipinos might have it today, keep in mind that should the earth's water level rise as many expect it to, the land area of the Philippine archipelago, surrounded by water as it is, will shrink more dramatically than that of many other countries. If and when that happens, life in these islands will become almost intolerable. It therefore behoves this generation of Filipinos to fix the problem because it will not be us who will suffer the consequences of our inaction. it will be our children and or grandchildren who will bear the brunt of our doing nothing now.

Three typhoons while the first drowned it all

‘God will not forsake you,’ priest tells Philippines typhoon survivors

Large parts of the city remain submerged under flood waters and tens of thousands are in urgent need of shelter and basic items like clean water and food after Typhoon Ketsana struck, killing more than 300 people.
Churches across the largely Catholic Philippines were filled on Sunday with worshippers who had made the difficult journey through high waters and floating debris in many places to hear sermons of encouragement.
Father Anton C T Pascual, executive director of the Manila branch of Catholic charity Caritas, broadcast a message of hope to his fellow countrymen on the radio, according to Agence France Press.
“God loves you. God will not forsake you," he told them. "Don't lose hope because these trials are challenges that will make us all the more cling to God, and to unite as brothers and sisters, and to unite as one people."
Caritas is aiding around 65,000 families across the Philippines, nearly 10,000 of them in the Archdiocese of Manila.
Many churches and Christian aid agencies are involved in the collection and distribution of relief goods for survivors. World Vision aims to raise $2 million for its response to Manila alone.
Advocacy director for World Vision in the Philippines, Minnie Portales, said the scale of the devastation not only in the Philippines but in the wake of the Indonesian earthquake and tsunami in Samoa and Tonga had put a strain on everyone.
“The important thing is to show people that they are not forgotten by getting even small amounts of aid out,” she said.
The wave of natural disasters in South East Asia were the hearts and minds of Christians on Sunday as they took part in the Day of Prayer for Climate Change.
Truro Cathedral held a silent vigil to mark the day, held ahead of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December.
Tearfund has called on Christians to pray for victims of the South East Asia disasters as they grieve the loss of their homes and loved ones, and face the difficult prospect of rebuilding their lives.
“The needs are enormous and after the initial loss there comes the sense of devastation and shock. People – many of whom are already desperately poor – are left with nothing,” said Matthew Frost, Tearfund Chief Executive.
“Homes and livelihoods are destroyed; loved ones are lost or missing – the disorientation and trauma is unimaginable.
“The relief effort is being built up daily. Our partner relief teams in Sumatra and in Metro Manila are assessing the need and responding, but we can also surround the crises and the families affected in prayer.”

Fund Raising - Bank account

As an update to everyone, our bank account is currently being opened. The information will be published after 14 October as the assigned signatories needs to go back to BCEE for final signing of documents.

The box at UBS, has not yet been collected and will be collected on 14 Oct wherein all proceeds are directly deposited to the account.

Thank you for your understanding,

Michaela de Angeli

Repost in Facebook - calling for help

Please find below a repost in Facebook about two days ago. If help can be reached it will be very much appreciated:

Repost from CARMELA "ANNETTE" TAN-ISIDORO: MY AUNT'S PLACE AT VILLAGE EAST CAINTA,RIZAL HAVE BEEN SUBMERGED. THEY DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING. I HAVE A NEWBORN NIECE WHO JUST SURVIVE(THEY PUT HER AT THE PAIL IN ORDER FOR HER TO SURVIVE WHILE ...HER MOM IS FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE. MY COUSIN ALMOST GOT DROWNED). WE NEED OLD CLOTHES, MILK FOR THE BABY, MEDICINES, FOOD AND WATER. THE ONLY NO I HAVE AT IS 09178333853(AUNT BELLE).

A comment from an environmentalist currently living in Manila:

Any help for the victims who have lost everything and for the local government units who have to clean up the roads and their areas will be very much welcome I am sure. Thank you so much.

Charity Relief Assistance to Typhoon Victims - Philippines (Noah's Ark) - Employee Support

With the help of a bank employee, we are currently generating funds and relief goods to realize our plan to help the typhoon victims.

We thank in return the authorisation given to circulate to all bank employees the attached email below:

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Dear Colleagues,
I would like to seek your charitable assistance for the Typhoon and flooding victims in the Philippines. As per the weather bureau there are two more typhoons on the way. The people has barely survived the first hit. I have friends and relatives who literally lost their homes and belongings. Houses and cars submerged in water. Currently they are in relocation areas. There is a shortage of shelter, food, clothing and clean drinking water. Sickness is beginning to spread as well. And I would like to be able to help and call the attention of the others who may be willing to help.
I have placed a box and a notebook by the reception. The security guards will look after it's safety as that would be a better option than circulating an envelope that may get lost or misplaced. Please do sign your name and I will find my very best way to compensate everyone in return.
If you have other ideas of giving aid or extend a helping hand, please do not hesitate to contact me.
I thank you all very much in advance. I will surely keep you all posted on the proceedings of this event. Let's call this project : Noah's Ark.

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The box will be collected in the morning of 07 Oct 2009. The amount will be published in the coming events. The proceeds will be deposited into an account opened at BCEE in the name of Noah's Ark. For transparency purposes, this account will be accounted for by an external party. All proceeds donated will be published in this site.

The account number after it has been opened on 07 Oct 2009, will be communicated to everyone for the purpose of generating more donations to those who are willing to help.

We are also open for new members to join and willing to help out on their free time and free will.

We thank you all for the kindest of your heart that you are blessed in return,

Michaela de Angeli

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We have collected the box and generated 155euro. We thank all the employees for their generosity and support.

This donation will be a part of the funds that will be sent to Archangels Foundation. We will post its story in the coming events.