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Manumalo students donate over $1,120 for Haiyan victims

The devastation of Super Typhoon Haiyan that struck the Philippines two weeks ago is being felt by everyone, even the youngest members of the territory’s population. Super typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms ever to make landfall hit the Philippines on Nov. 8 with winds as high as 190 mph and blew its way across the islands south of Manila.

 

Yesterday morning, during a one-day fundraising event, the students of Manumalo Baptist Academy in Malaeimi came together to donate whatever they could to help out with relief efforts.

 

In a matter of hours, Manumalo Baptist Academy - with an enrollment of 606 - managed to rake up $1,120.40 from students who generously donated their lunch money, allowance, and whatever they had and wanted to give.

 

Manumalo’s Filipino teachers Miriam Mirasol and Veronica Occena presented the donation to Maria Guyapa, a representative of the local Filipino community who was grateful for the meaalofa and expressed gratitude on behalf of their small organization.

 

Since news of Haiyan’s wrath hit the airwaves, members of the local Filipino community have been busy soliciting donations all over the territory and the response has been sensational, evident through the outpouring of love, words of encouragement, and monetary contributions.

 

Even the local chapter of the American Red Cross is accepting donations on behalf of the victims.

 

As of yesterday morning, according to nbcnews.com, the death toll in the Philippines had topped 5,200 and counting. More than 23,000 had been injured and 1,611 were still missing across islands devastated by Haiyan, which is known as ‘Yolanda’ in the Philippines.

 

A reported 800,000 people were able to evacuate their homes, but the storm nonetheless “damaged millions of dollars worth of crops and infrastructure, destroyed half-a-million homes, and affected more than 10 million people.”

 

Additionally, “Some 4.3 million people were said to have been displaced— one million of whom were children,” nbcnews.com reports.

 

The total cost of the damage is pegged at more than $288 million, with around $112 million of it being damaged crops, and $100 million damage to livestock and fisheries.

 

The U.S. is one of about two dozen governments who have sent aid to the Philippines.

 

According to an online tracker, a United Nations appeal for $301 million in relief aid has so far raised $131 million.

 

Samoa News spoke to several local Filipino seamstresses and domestic workers who are hopeful that their family members are at least getting by.

 

One local Filipino seamstress said she is grateful that the storm didn’t affect her family, as they reside on an island that wasn’t in the direct path of Haiyan. Another local Filipino said that although his family was not affected, his wife’s family is hurting right now, as their home was completely damaged and they are relying on relief efforts for food and shelter.

 

Major Reynaldo Balido, spokesman for the Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), told NBC News yesterday that they are on their third round of distributing relief.