Following the devastation of Typhoon Vamco in the Philippines claiming the lives of at least 73 with 19 missing, Australians have raised over $50,000 via GoFundMe in the first four days to support the recovery efforts.
Almost $8,000 has been raised in 72 hours by Melbourne colleagues at Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS) for their team in Manila of which ten have been seriously impacted by the flooding. On the page, AMS writes:“We are aware of 10 colleagues who have been seriously impacted by flood damage and have set a target of GBP 1000 each. To put this in context, your support will help them to replace household items like a washing machines, dining tables, fridge/freezers, couches, televisions or be put toward more extensive repairs to the physical structures.”
While New South Wales man Daniel Barton who has a team of 25 Filipino staff in Luzon is delivering support on the ground and raised over $1,500 in two days. Daniel employs employ 25 Filipino staff members that are based predominantly in Luzon
On the fundraiser, Daniel writes:
“We have already made a start. There is a bridge in Baliug that has some houses built close to the side. All have been washed away as shown in the images. There are 3 families and a total of 14 people who lived there. Currently, they are sleeping under a tarpaulin with some wood that was washed upholding it down.
“We are also going to look at what it will cost to rebuild the homes for them. We estimate that all 3 homes can be built for around 220,000 PHP that is around $6500.”
In an interview with The Philippine Times, Daniel states that he wants to ensure that many people have food and water. “Then long term there are a lot of people that have no way of rebuilding what they have lost. So I want this to be a long term project and try to raise enough to actually rebuild some of the homes that have been lost,” he said.
Daniel has been quick to respond to the aid of natural disasters, having supported set up a GoFundMe for Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu in 2015.
Daniel also visits the Philippines on a regular basis, and spent 3 months in the Philippines before COVID-19 hit. Every Friday for the past couple of years, Daniel organises for two members of his team to donate 10,000 PHP worth of food to a needy community.
Australians have been crowdfunding thousands of dollars to provide on the ground support in the aftermath of the extreme weather event in the Philippines.
