Philippine Church launches
fund drive for typhoon victims
 |
| Heavy rains brought by typhoon Vinta caused serious floods in southern Philippines.- AFP |
In less than a week’s time ahead of Christmas, cyclones
Urduja and Vinta hit the Philippines causing death and displacement in the
east and south.
The Catholic Church in the Philippines is collecting funds
to aid communities affected by the typhoon that battered the southern Mindanao
region last weekend. The National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA)
or Caritas Philippines, the humanitarian, development and advocacy
arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is hoping
to collect 5.8 million pesos (about €97,000) for relief
works.
Typhoon Vinta
One of the deadliest storms to hit the Philippines this
year, typhoon Vinta (international name Tembin) left at least 164
people dead and 171 missing in landslides and flash floods in the
provinces of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur and on the Zamboanga Peninsula.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council,
more than 97,000 people remained in 261 evacuation centers across the southern
Philippines on Monday, while nearly 85,000 others were displaced and staying
elsewhere.
NASSA/Caritas Philippines
"The emergency caused by typhoon Vinta is worsened by
the fact the population already suffer from the devastation produced by the
siege of Marawi,” Rey Henderson, head of communications and
development of NASSA/Caritas told AsiaNews. He said most of the affected
families have already been displaced by the fighting between
government forces and Islamist militia in the city of Marawi.
Henderson said Nassa/Caritas Philippines is appealing for an
initial figure of 5.8 million pesos, in order to respond urgently to the need
for food rations, hygiene kits, blankets and emergency supplies. In the
meantime, aid for the Marawi crisis is underway with the provision of drinking
water and warm clothes, vital to these families.
Henderson said they are urging support for the campaign to
raise additional funds for relief efforts and first aid targeting up to 3,000
families, or 15,000 individuals, in the southern provinces of Compostela
Valley, Davao del Norte, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Misamis Oriental.
Pope’s prayers
Pope Francis on Sunday remembered the victims of typhoon
Vinta and invited prayers for them. "I wish to assure my prayer to
the population of the island of Mindanao, in the Philippines, hit by a storm
that has caused numerous victims and destruction,” the Pope said after he
prayed the midday “Angelus” with a large crowd in St. Peter’s Square in
Rome on Christmas eve. “May God the merciful welcome the souls of the
dead and comfort those who suffer from this calamity," the Holy Father
prayed.
Card. Tagle
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Archbishop of Manila has
urged Catholics to help the victims of the recent storms Urduja and Vinta, that
have swept the archipelago of the Visayas and the island of Mindanao.
He said Caritas Manila is accepting donations, which will go to the
affected churches and dioceses in Visayas and Mindanao. “Christmas means
helping each other, just as Jesus did ", Card. Tagle said.
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