How to Help Victims of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) If You Live Outside the Philippines

My family in the Philippines were spared from the crushing agony and unimaginable grief of loss brought about Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). But many are still suffering from the devastating calamity. According to a report, 10,000 people are estimated killed by the storm twice stronger than hurricane Katrina and Sandy.

This is a time to pray for those who need God's strength the most right now will experience it and a time to help demonstrate God's goodness to Filipinos in any way we can.

In response to several inquiries regarding how to send help to Filipinos affected by the Typhoon, I would like to inform the public that online donations from overseas donors may be sent through the following organizations (Sources: CNN.com, Rappler.com & @candyreyes):

Emergency support

Philippine Red Cross, 1-212-687-6200.

CARE, 1-800-521-2273 within the United States or +1-404-681-2252 outside the U.S.

Catholic Relief Services, 1-877-435-7277.

Convoy of Hope, 1-417-823-8998.

Mercy Corps, 1-888-747-7440.

Oxfam America,1-800-776-9326.

Adventist Development and Relief Agency, 1-800-424-2372.

Food and water

World Food Programme ,1-202-747-0722 or +39-06-65131 for international calls.

Samaritan's Purse, 1-828-262-1980.

World Vision,1-888-511-6443.

Action Against Hunger, 1-877-777-1420.

Shelter

ShelterBox, 1-941-907-6036.

Habitat for Humanity, 1-800-HABITAT.

Architecture for Humanity, 1-415-963-3511 or text REBUILD to 85944 to make a $10 donation from your mobile phone.

Medical assistance

Americares, 1-800-486-4357.

International Medical Corps, 1-800-481-4462.

Direct Relief, 1-805-964-4767

Helping children

U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 1-800-367-5437

Save the Children, 1-800-728-3843.

ChildFund International

(UPDATE: Another way to help is to send Team Rubicon to the Philippines. Team Rubicon is a group of US Military veterans and medical professionals committed to relief and disaster response. It will be your way to offer help to Filipinos by sending experienced and qualified rescue volunteers to towns affected by Typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan. Click here to help send Team Rubicon to the Philippines.)

Pentagon: United States Military Wants Increased Access to Philippines

According to a report from the Washington Post, "the Philippines is in talks with the Obama administration about expanding the American military presence" in the Philippines, a strategic moves aimed at China and its growing military activities in the region. (Read full story here)

Are the talks about US military bases back in Philippine soil? Filipino leftist groups think so and were quick to stage a rally in Washington DC to express their disapproval. A leader from the leftist group, Bayan said, "If we allow more US troops to enter our country, the entire archipelago will be transformed into one military outpost for US hegemonic interests."

Can True Democracy Emerge in Egypt Now that President Mubarak is Gone?

The events in Egypt reminded me the Philippine's peaceful People Power revolution in 1986. Filipinos should be reminded that we must keep the spirit of people power alive.

But who will replace Mubarak? Can democracy emerge in Egypt now that President Mubarak is gone? Filipinos were blessed to have former President Cory Aquino as a new leader after Marcos. She was for and aimed to restore democracy back into the hands of the Filipino people. Unfortunately, Egypt may be a different story because the regime that will take over is still uncertain.

State of Human Trafficking in the Philippines

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Gen 1:27). There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28).

Based on the recently released 2010 Trafficking in Person's report by the US Department of State, the Philippines still has a long way to go to combat modern human slavery.

Many Foreign Refugees Find New Lives in Manila, Philippines

This article from South China Morning Post was shared to me by my friend Vicky G. of Heirloom Rice. I feel proud and inspired on how the article put the Philippines in a very positive light. Reminds me of the words in Leviticus 19, When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Manhattan Declaration: A Filipino Christian Blogger's New Gig

I accepted an invitation to be a regular contributor/blogger for the Manhattan Declaration’s new blog site. The Manhattan Declaration is a 4,700-word declaration defending the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage and religious liberty in the United States. The declaration was released on November 2009 in New York City and to date has almost half a million signatures in support. Moreover, the Manhattan Declaration is a growing grassroot movement of people taking a principled stand on critical moral issues.

Pray for Haiti

Raw footage of the earthquake that hit Haiti found on Youtube recently reminds me of the 7.7 Richter scale earthquake that devastated the northern Philippines in 1990 that killed more than 5000 people.

Filipinos are one of the Happiest People in the World

Good New Pilipinas reported recently that Filipinos are one of the happiest people on Earth according to the 2009 Happy Planet Index (HPI) published by the New Economics Foundation. The Philippines ranked 14th, up 3 places from last year.

Costa Rica is the happiest place in the world, followed by Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guatemala, Vietnam, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Brazil and Honduras. You can see the complete list or report here.

You will notice that developing countries ranked top on the Happy Index while the so-called economic super powers such as the France (#71), United Kingdom (#74) and the United States (#114) ranked low.

It means that economic growth or superiority does not translate to happiness. Yet, we all make the mistake of holding our government and ourselves meet that standard to be properous. What's important is discovering that neither wealth nor government can ever be the source of true happiness.

For further reading, click here.

(image from Good News Pilipinas)

Filipinos, South Koreans & Kim Jong II

My colleague Stephen Reed made some good and interesting talking points about North Korean leader and dictator Kim Jong II. His thoughts is in response to the report that he launched 2 test nuclear missiles last Tuesday prompting another diplomatic confrontation between North Korea and other world "superpowers."

Reed ask, "Is it ever appropriate to ask for God to remove a true tyrant from the scene?" He noted that even the great Christian theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer agreed "after much spiritual wrestling, that having Hitler gone was the only way to save many other souls."

Korean fever invaded the Philippines in the 1990's. South Korean telenovelas and pop music is very popular (remember F4, Meteor Garden and Sandara Park?). Koreans are also the number one tourists in the Philippines. In addition, it's a fast growing expatriate population in the country. Records show that there are 115,400 Koreans, a 115% jump since 2005 and an estimated 10,000 Kophinos—children of mixed Korean and Filipino descent living in the Philippines.

Knowing that many South Koreans have special ties and have embraced the Philippines as their second home, I wonder how they feel now knowing that the "evil" leader of the country next door to them is just a "button away" from starting a nuclear crisis that will first affect their original homeland?

Let's pray for our Korean brothers and sisters to comfort them during these times and ask the Lord to work in His many mysterious ways, finds a peaceful solution to remove Kim Jong II from power and creating fear among its people and the rest of the world.

(image from cnn.com)

Filipino School Girl Told to Choose: Country or Parents

A Filipino family is making news in Japan not because of any extraordinary skills or abilities but of legal matters that left a 13 year old girl separated from her parents. Parents of Noriko Calderon violated Japanese immigration laws and are now paying the price for entering and working in Japan illegally. Noriko was asked to choose between her parents and the country she considers her home. Part of me feels bad that this has to end this way. This could be very traumatizing for a 13 year old. However, part of me also feels that somehow, justice has been served for the parents who have broken serious immigration laws in Japan. They should have known that their actions have consequences. But who am I to judge? We were somehow in a similar ethical dilemma a few years back with our US immigration status. Its a tough decision, but we decided abiding US immigration laws is God's best for our family than violating it.

What do you think? Is this justice served or not? In any case, this family deserves our prayers.

Love Thy Neighbor's Dried Fish

Loving their neighbors must be tough for these New York nuns, as they are up against a popular Filipino delicacy called tuyo (salty dried fish). According to the article, the nuns are suing a Filipino couple for cooking tuyo and another popular dish, tinapa (smoked dried fish). Both have a strong "foul" smell that all Filipinos love.

I’m Filipino, and this was a dilemma at our house too. We gave up on the dish some time ago out of courtesy for others. We can’t cook it indoors because it will stink up our condo and clothes, but can't fry it outdoors either because it will offend our neighbors (as happened with our next-door Filipino neighbor who fried fish last summer).

What do you think of the story and what would you do? Is this a racial issue, an ethical issue, or just an issue of respect?

(originally posted on The Point)

Throwing Shoes at the President

One major news this week was the Iraqi journalist who threw shoes to outgoing US President George W. Bush. According to Iraqi culture throwing shoes at someone is a sign of contempt. The Philippines relation to the US is also interesting but I don't think its comparable to what is going on in Iraq. The US colonized the Philippines in the early 1900s, fought alongside Filipinos during World War II, backed the Philippines against the Marcos regime and held their military and intelligence base in the country for many years until its ban in 1992. Today, about 30,000-50,000 US troops are stationed in the Philippines under the Balikatan joint war exercises. My personal reaction to the shoe throwing incident is posted on the blog of Filipino journalist Tony O. Cruz who also posted the story and video:

Ang bilis naman nilang makalimot. Sign of contempt? The journalist should also look at things from a different perspective. The shoe throwing incident is a clear sign that freedom of expression and freedom of the press is back in Iraq. I would think these journalists will not dare do such a stunt under Saddam’s regime. Hope they wont forget that George Bush and the US military helped get their freedom back after years of dictatorship from Saddam.

If you think about it, the incident can also reflect our relationship to Christ or how we treat Him. Christ liberated us from the eternal bondage of sin, and what do we do in return? We choose to give our lives back to Him. However, you and I are guilty of throwing a metaphoric "shoe" at Him once in a while. When we rely more on our self will than His, fail to acknowledge His greatness and we deny His full authority and sovereignty over every aspect of our lives.

Give Us this Day Our Daily Rice

As I posted last month on The Point blog the Voice of the People World Hunger Survey 2008 revealed that the Philippines ranked 5th where the population (survey respondents) reported that their families have not enough food to eat in the last 12 months. How did this happen? It's easy to point fingers to the government's corruption such as the recent Bolante Fertilizer scam. But that's a bigger problem that needs solution, to unsure budget allocated for agriculture will indeed go to projects designed to bring more food on the Filipino dinner table. As an immediate response, people of faith should look beyond themselves and intentionally look for those who are hungry and in need. I am sure it will not be hard to find some in our community. It's Christianly to help the weak and feed the hungry. We are commanded to do it. The next time you and I pray for our "daily bread," lets ask God to use us to give "daily bread" or " daily rice" to others who dont have enough.