Accompanied by international solidarity - with the contribution, for example, of the Salesian Mission Office of Australia - the volunteers and operators active in the field are working tirelessly to meet the basic needs of the hundreds of people who have lost everything and who need assistance, food, clean water, clothing and temporary shelter.
The two faces of this reality - those who need everything and those who do everything to offer help - are well represented by a little girl from Cebu City, who, before typhoon Odette, together with her family, had just suffered another misfortune; and by Reggie, a volunteer who has been collaborating with the Salesians for years.
The little girl, three days before Typhoon Odette hit the Philippines, had seen her home burned in a fire, along with 50 other houses. Her parents had then been trying to build themselves a makeshift shelter with donations from the parish when they were told to move to the shelter because a typhoon was on the way. When the wind and rain subsided and they walked through mud, garbage and debris back to their home, they realized that the little they had bought was gone ... again.
Reggie, for her part, volunteers to find funds for the education of poor children in the parish-sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in Cebu City, entrusted to the Salesians. Despite the many activities that she manages, whenever an emergency occurs, she extends her commitment by organizing rescue missions. “She was tired and her hair was unkempt when I sat down with her yesterday. But her face lit up when I told her I was hoping she could help organize a rescue operation,” testified Jan Odivilas, of the Southern Philippine Social Communications Office.
“I gave her the donations we collected. Around noon today, she called to tell me that she had bought all the non-perishable products and was with an army of volunteers filling 700 relief bags. She was already up at 4 in the morning. The rest of the day will be long. This isn't her first rescue this month. And she knows very well that in the weeks to come there is a good chance that she will fill even more bags,” Jan said.
Rai/Odette, with maximum winds up to 195 km/h, is the 15th typhoon that entered the territory of the Philippines in 2021. According to the National Council for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (NDRMMC) over 1.8 million people were involved and harmed by Rai/Odette, which caused 407 victims and 1,147 injured.
https://www.infoans.org/en/sections/news/item/14420-philippines-salesian-solidarity-brings-help-and-hope-to-the-needy#sigProId01bb9b8310
