The Salvos & The Typhoons

Since September 26 when Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) swept across the Philippines and impacted the lives of over 4M people, The Salvos have been working tirelessly. In Salvo terms, Ondoy restricted her damage to just the one Division, the Central Philippines Division, or National Capital Region (NCR) As a result the Divisional Headquarters in Quezon City has been transformed into an Aid Centre with the usual sights: sacks of rice, cans of sardines, boxes of noodles, piles of blankets and mats and bottles of medicines. The staff of the three centres located on this property (Quezon City Corps #2, Bethany Centre and DHQ) have been packing and sorting for almost two weeks now.

In that time The Salvos have distributed:

• almost 12,000 food hampers
• to over 50,000 people
• in 8 NCR Cities
• in 22 Barangay (villages)
• at a cost of over USD 80,000

Despite this, and of course the thousands of deliveries made by other Aid Agencies, there are still people that cannot be reached because the flood waters are still too high. There are people who today are being evacuated from their homes becuase the ground is sinking and their houses with it.

In the North, Typhoon Parma (Pepeng, as it's known locally) after crossing the country once did a U turn and is now hovering as a tropical depression. In the process it has devastated these farming communities and their crops, crops of corn that are a very significant percentage of this countries food supply.

In these next days The Salvos will escalate the distribution of food, (basic) medicines, blankets and mats, five-fold. As an Aid deliverer we have an advantage: having been in the country for many years we have people that know the areas and the people, they know who to speak to and where to go - and we are trusted.

Salvos of the world - you should be proud of what The Salvation Army in the Philippines is doing. Despite hardship and loss for many of them personally they are putting out their hands to others - and in the process they are transforming lives and reforming societies.

This is what Christianity should look like. Meeting the needs of others, without discrimination and without the expectation [albeit a hidden agenda] that the other will convert to my religion.