Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news from the Philippines. In early June, typhoon-related floods overflowed rivers in multiple provinces of the Mindanao region, forcing some 13,000 families from their homes.
Bayan Patang – Flood-affected farmer, Kabasalan, Philippines (M): The needs of the children – especially we are parents, we worry about where we can get the food to feed them. We are also afraid, we don’t know where we will go; wherever we look is all water.
VOICE: With all her love and prayers, on June 9 Supreme Master Ching Hai donated US$15,000 and asked that our nearby Association members please render help to the most vulnerable. This amount could purchase US$203,000 in urgent needs if obtained in the United States, based on the cost of living in the Philippines.
Covering their own travel expenses of US$2,240, our Association’s relief team in the Philippines, together with team members from Formosa (Taiwan), prepared to deliver emergency food supplies to the hard-hit town of Pikit.
Local social welfare officials expressed their gratefulness to Supreme Master Ching Hai at the news of the unexpected aid for some 11,000 families, whose ruined crops had left them unable to resume their regular daily lives.
Elderly relief recipient (F): Thank you, Master Ching Hai, for your help for us.
Mayor of Pikit (M): Thank very, very much Supreme Master Ching Hai.
VOICE: About 4,100 relief packs were prepared, containing rice, noodles, salt, sugar, soy sauce, biscuits and detergent soap, then distributed to families in eight barangays.
Some villages had to be reached by boat across still-flooded areas over two meters deep. Relief recipients were also eager to read the SOS flyers, saying that the climate change urgency they described was proven by the worsening flood disasters they had been experiencing.
Father Joel Canonizado – Parish priest (M): Hopefully with the group coming here and highlighting these things, people will be encouraged to go organic, to be veggie and help save planet Earth. Be Veg, Go Green 2 Save the Planet!
VOICE: We are thankful for the helpful response of the local officials and for Supreme Master Ching Hai's timely care as we also appreciate the efforts of our Association’s relief team. Our prayers for the continued resiliency of the Philippine people and that such predicaments are eased through our gentler regard for all fellow beings.
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