Jacqueline Lee
Staff Writer
N.C State professors and students are partnering together to assist in relief efforts in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan resulted in almost 2,400 deaths, with thousands still missing.
Gawad Kalinga, a non-profit based out of the Philippines, is currently leading Operation Walang Iwanan, which translates to “No one left behind.” The organization has been working with volunteers in Raleigh to gain support for disaster relief, according to Francis de Los Reyes, a professor of civil engineering.
According to Reyes, the nonprofit’s goal is to eliminate poverty in the Philippines. He said that this is done through a holistic approach, starting with converting slums to colorful villages and improving education, livelihood and social entrepreneurship.
Reyes is the North Carolina Area Coordinator of Gawad Kalinga. He said North Carolina sponsors three villages, or about 90 families in the Philippines. Every village has a community center, livelihood center, daycare and school.
“The Filipino-American community in NC and all over the US is responding with lots of donations,” Reyes said. “We are thankful to the international community for their help.”
According to Reyes, the organization sent 200,000 food packs to Typhoon Haiyan victims. Each $5 pack can feed a family for three days.
Reyes said the category 5 storm was three times stronger than Hurricane Katrina and had surges up to 45 feet.
Even evacuation centers were inundated and destroyed.
According to Reyes, the situation in the Philippines is still dire. He said that entire towns and cities were affected, with an estimated 95 percent of the country’s infrastructure destroyed, which created problems with communication and the use of access roads.
Aid and rescue workers have not yet reached many small towns in the country.
“The Philippines will rise up again,” Reyes said. “Filipinos are a resilient people.”
According to Reyes, there were reports of people that still did not have food and water. He said no one knows for sure what the death toll is, but he said a friend of his estimates the death toll may up to 50,000.
Reyes said donations were received from the international community and communities in the Philippines were mobilizing. Access and communication are the problems, along with the need for food, water and medicine.
Perry Peralta, a professor in the department of forest biomaterials, said he has been involved with Gawad Kalinga for ten years, when Reyes introduced him to the organization. He said the holistic approach caught his attention.
“Gawad Kalinga is a trustworthy organization with a good network and good people to make things happen,” Peralta said. “Supporting their efforts is the best way to help people affected by the typhoon.”
Reyes’s daughter, Mia de los Reyes, is a sophomore in physics and mathematics. Mia said her parents got her involved with the organization. She said she attended a weeklong trip when she was in middle school to help build houses with the organization.
Mia said fortunately their family was not affected by the typhoon, but they know of people that were affected. One of their family’s friends’ house was destroyed because of the storm.
She said she is working with clubs and student organizations, such as sororities and fraternities, to raise funds. The Asian-interest sorority, BLISS, held a henna event Thursday to raise money and Mia plans on continuing to work with her dad to find more ways to get the student population to contribute.
