SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Sasebo Chapter of the Filipino/American Cultural Group, in conjunction with the Sasebo Council of the Navy League, announced on Thursday they are accepting donations to help Philippines tropical storm and typhoon victims.
More than 200,000 residents have been displaced by the storms.
At least 842 are known dead, and 751 are missing, according to various published reports.
More than 30,000 homes were destroyed and overall damages are estimated at $58 billion.
“What we can accept is canned goods, clothing items, blankets and monetary donations,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Gina Duarte, FIL/AM president.
“We are conducting this effort with the Sasebo Navy League, and as we get the word out, so far the community reactions to our collections has been encouraging.”
Duarte said a relief foundation in the Philippines will help coordinate delivering the donations to the ravaged areas.
“We have some funds as organizations that we can apply to offset some of the costs to ship donated items to the Philippines. We want anything donated to go to the disaster victims,” Duarte said.
Jerry Havens, Sasebo Navy League president and FIL/AM member, said large boxes mailed through local businesses could “conceivably reach the Philippines in as short a time as two weeks.”
“To make the greatest impact, this needs to be accomplished as soon as possible," Havens added. “Of course, this is not a short-term problem, and anything accumulated over the next couple of weeks will also be forwarded to the victims in the Philippines.”
Call Duarte at DSN 252-2386 or Havens at DSN 252-3901 for more information.
