1. VISTA VISTAFebruary 19, 2014
10 therecord.com.au
February 19, 2014
11therecord.com.au
After the
A Perth-based Catholic charity has just returned from the
Philippines after distributing aid to some of the most isolated
and hardest-hit areas in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. The dire
situation they saw there has spurred them on to spearhead a new
project - the provision of housing, writes Michael Soh.
have gone
Media
W
hen Typhoon Haiyan
devastated large parts
of the Philippines
three months ago, the
catastrophe drew a swarm of world-
wide media coverage that prompted
a lot of aid and relief from all over
the world.
Sadly, today, it has been forgot-
ten due to the many other devel-
oping stories that are happening
worldwide and many victims on
the ground are wondering where
all the international donations have
been spent.
The horror that visited many of
the country's islands on November
8 is believed to have been the
strongest storm ever recorded to
hit landfall, with winds clocked at
315km/h, leaving buildings, busi-
nesses and whole communities
unrecognisable in its wake.
Prior preparations and evacua-
tions of tens of thousands of people
were not enough to hold disaster at
bay. Some areas, such as the prov-
ince of Bohol, were already reeling
from an earthquake a month earlier
and also under threat by Haiyan.
The aftermath of Typhoon
Haiyan was harrowing. The prov-
inces of Samar and Leyte were the
worst hit, particularly the city of
Tacloban. Catastrophic damage
surrounded the whole city with
debris, piled-up cars, uprooted
and broken trees and corpses seen
everywhere. Tacloban Airport’s ter-
minal building was wiped out by a
massive storm surge, over two sto-
reys high, causing all flights to be
cancelled for weeks.
Thousands were killed and the
death toll increased steadily by the
day. The United Nations estimated
that more than 11 million people
had been affected, leaving many
homeless.
The events of Typhoon Haiyan
prompted massive relief aid and
efforts from all over the world.
Military, medical and government
personnel, as well as thousands
of international charities, touched
down in Tacloban to bring relief
and aid to the devastated city.
Among those thousands was
Buckets for Jesus begun by the
Soh family of Churchlands, Perth,
whose Facebook relief campaign
drew hundreds of donors and vol-
unteers to help the cause.
For almost two weeks, Buckets
For Jesus collected enough relief
and aid to fill up and ship a total of
eight sea containers, three of which
were from Perth and the other five
from Singapore, where founder
and coordinators Mike and Ruby
Soh have several contacts and sup-
porters.
The containers were unpacked,
sorted and distributed to the suf-
fering, hungry and poor in the
typhoon-affected areas of the
Philippines by the Sohs, their
family and volunteers during
two Apostolic missions to the
Philippines in December and they
have just returned from another
mission in January.
Aside from bringing aid and
relief to Typhoon Haiyan victims
in inaccessible areas, the Buckets
For Jesus team got to see first-
hand how the typhoon had affected
the country, particularly in Bogo,
Concepcion, Ormoc and Tacloban.
They also got to see the wreck-
age caused by an earthquake at the
epicentre in Sagbayan and Carmen,
Bohol. Today, even the office of the
Mayor of Sagbayan, Ricardo Suarez
still operates in a tent.
Sadly, the situation at the
typhoon-affected areas has not
improved much. Three months
after Haiyan, Tacloban is still with-
out electricity with many of the
main buildings running on gen-
erators.
The suffering continues as vic-
tims still live in tents with very few
temporary dwellings having been
built. The areas of Bogo, Ormoc
and Iloilo were picking up the
pieces again, in spite of being on
rationed hours of electricity.
Many buildings are still with-
out a roof, including places the
Buckets For Jesus team visited, such
as a Catholic church in Tacloban
and the office of the Mayor of
Bogo, Celestino "Junie" Espinosa
Martinez Jr.
There is still a massive amount
of work to be done in these areas,
aside from bringing immediate
relief and aid to the millions of
people affected by the catastrophe.
People in the rural areas of Leyte
and Samar are still in hunger and
suffering, homeless and without
jobs, as most of the international
relief efforts have centred around
Cebu and Tacloban.
One village Buckets for Jesus
visited last month, the village
of Barangay Bakhawan, had not
received any aid since the last time
the charity had visited back in
December, in spite of being located
in Tacloban where international aid
efforts have been greatest.
“Typhoon victims lost their
livelihood, homes and even family
members; there is a general dissat-
isfaction on how slow the relief has
been, especially in remote places,”
Ruby Soh, co-founder and coordi-
nator of Buckets for Jesus, said.
“The clean-up and rehab have
barely started after three months
and people, who are still living in
tents and barely surviving, sick and
feeling hopeless, are asking where
did all the millions of donations
go?”
The fact is that the government
itself has not shown positive signs
of using the millions of aid that
poured into the rehab; this has
perhaps dampened the spirits of
people who want to help, Mrs Soh
said, urging media to probe how the
money has, and is, being spent.
The Philippine government has
been accused of being beset by cor-
ruption, of being slow to react; the
suspected reason behind the lack
of relief in some typhoon-affected
areas.
Just days after the catastrophic
devastation, it failed to organise
relief, rescue and clearing opera-
tions in the most severely affect-
ed areas. Fr Jun Carreon, parish
priest of Pawing Parish from Palo,
Tacloban, told Mrs Soh that only
one army helicopter came the next
day and, to their dismay, it left after
surveying the damage.
It was not until three days later
that government help started to
trickle in, whereas, two days after
the tragic event, international
organisations had already begun
organising their personnel and
resources to attend immediately to
areas of urgent need.
Customs officials have not been
of much help when they halt relief
from all over the world by add-
ing taxes and all sorts of hurdles
to international aid, Mrs Soh said,
instead of expediting its release.
“Corruption has been prevalent
in the previous presidents’ regimes
and has not been eradicated
although the incumbent president
has initiated a clean-up that put the
previous president Arroyo in cus-
tody,” Mrs Soh said.
“Internationalrelieforganisations
and charities are actively giving
relief and helping the disoriented
victims find shelter.
“During our three visits to
Tacloban, for instance, we did
not see much of the army or
government agencies in action.”
Last month was the first Buckets
For Jesus mission for Margaret
Laundy, whose family has been
supporting Buckets For Jesus' char-
ity work for the last five years by
volunteering at packing days and
other charity events. She and her
daughters, Bernadette and Sarah,
came on what she described as a
‘life-changing’ mission and said
that distributing the donations that
were packed in Perth was exciting,
meaningful, and humbling.
“The people would meekly line
up to be given a parcel which they
were so grateful for,” Mrs Laundy
said. “They were delighted if an
empty cardboard box came their
way. I felt very privileged to be part
of this wonderful work.”
“It improved my relationship
with God, making me appreciate
the many blessings that He has
bestowed on me, even to allow-
ing me to be born in a first world
country. Meeting the poorest of
the poor face to face was very con-
fronting but is extremely rewarding
when you see pure joy spread across
their faces and love pouring out of
their eyes.”
This was also the first Buckets
For Jesus mission for Natasha
Raman whose parents, Roger and
Cathy, have been supportive of BFJ’s
charity work. Ms Raman said that
the mission exceeded her expecta-
tions, especially seeing how happy
the poor people were when they
were blessed with Buckets. She also
encourages her family and friends
to support the cause.
“I think the fact that these peo-
ple had felt such hardships yet they
still smiled and were so very grate-
ful to be given something as small
as a piece of bread or some Rosary
beads,” she said. “I would love for
them (her friends and family) to
experience what I had and give
them a chance to meet the faces
that I was lucky enough to see. If
they are unable to do mission, then
I highly encourage them to start or
continue to give donations and be
a part of fundraising.
“The message I would give to the
people we gave Buckets to is, keep
smiling, you may be poor when it
comes to material goods but you
are rich in your faith.”
Seeing the situations in disaster-
affected areas in the Philippines has
made rebuilding the main priority
for Mike and Ruby and her Buckets
For Jesus team. After sending eight
sea containers from Perth and
Singapore to help Typhoon Haiyan
victims, Mrs Soh hopes to ship a few
containers of much needed build-
ing tools and materials, repair kits
and funds to help repair or rebuild
homes in affected areas. She is also
praying for more volunteers to help
pack donations.
Mrs Soh recently launched a
new appeal, the Adopt a Family
program where, for just $2,000,
one can sponsor a disaster-affected
family to build a new disaster-proof
home. This program is aimed to
help those who have been living in
tents for up to three months since
Haiyan struck. Mrs Soh prays that
many will support this cause to pro-
vide the gift of a home that will last
a lifetime.
“Adopt A Family program is
aimed at initiating sustainable
home design to be built in allo-
cated land for a housing program
to withstand typhoons and earth-
quakes better,” she said.
“The cost is between $2,000-
$3,000 depending on the size of
the family. It will help the victims
get relocated and put a roof above
their heads faster, using donations
in cash and in kind, such as build-
ing materials, tools, equipment and
repair kits.”
Buckets For Jesus’ missions are
ongoing in the Philippines thanks
to friends and a team of volunteers
who carry on their work while
they coordinate ongoing support
in Perth, interstate and overseas.
The last mission also resulted
in new mission partners for them,
including people in Bogo, Iloilo,
Bohol, Ormoc and Tacloban. Mrs
Soh plans to split up donations
from Containers for Jesus to the
mission’s new partners in these
provinces, who volunteer to distrib-
ute donations to the many hungry
and suffering in their surrounding
areas.
Because of the ongoing and
insurmountable need caused by
the catastrophe, more Buckets For
Jesus missions to the Philippines
are being planned to coincide with
containers being filled up with
donations. Various fundraising
events will also be held throughout
the year, which will be announced
on Buckets For Jesus’ website, www.
bucketsforjesus.org.
Donations and volunteers are welcome.
For more information, please email
bucketsforjesus@gmail.com or call 9388 9677.
Prayers and support will be much appreciated.
Above, some of the crowds that came to receive aid from Perth charity Buckets for Jesus in Concepcion, Iloilo. Left, children in temporary shelter on the island of Bohol which suffered an earthquake in the month before Haiyan. PHOTO: MICHAEL SOH
Bucket for Jesus volunteers, including journalist Michael Soh, centre, pose with
the Mayor of Concepcion, Milliard Villanueva. PHOTO: MIKE SOH
Left, Ocean Reef woman and Buckets
for Jesus volunteer, Margaret Laundy,
distributes aid with other volunteers
at Ormoc in Leyte. Above, temporary
housing in Tacloban, still very much
temporary, three months after
Haiyan. Right, children in the village
of Barangay Bakhawan, Tacloban.
PHOTOS: MICHAEL SOH; KAMILA SOH
For $2-3000 each, a Perth charity hopes to provide
typhoon-resistant homes to desperate families.