honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, October 1, 2009

Hawaii rallies to aid disaster victims in Samoa, Philippines


By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer

TO DONATE TO ...

Filipino disaster relief: Mail checks to the Filipino Community Center, Suite 302, 94-428 Mokuola St., Waipahu, HI 96797. For cash donations, visit the center in person. No in-kind donations are being accepted.

Samoan disaster relief: Office of the American Samoa Governor, 1427 Dillingham Blvd., Suite 210. (On the second floor of the building that houses Boulevard Saimin: Go up the stairs behind the building.)

All disasters: American Red Cross, 800-733-2767 or 800-257-7575 (Spanish), or visit www.redcross.org. All money collected goes into a general relief fund.

All disasters: The Cathedral of St. Andrew is dedicating all calabash offerings given at the 5:30 pm Taize Prayer service to Episcopal Relief & Development.

The cathedral will also take up special collections for Episcopal Relief & Development and church aid efforts at each of its Sunday Holy Eucharist services this week, at a pet blessing Sunday and at the Sunday Choral Evensong.

Those wishing to contribute to disaster relief may also send checks made payable to "Episcopal Relief and Development" to the Cathedral of St. Andrew, 229 Queen Emma Square, Honolulu, HI 96813.

spacer spacer

Contributions continue to flow steadily from Hawai'i into relief efforts for two separate Asian and Pacific disaster areas as government agencies and nonprofit groups yesterday repeated their calls for more help.

Tropical Storm Ketsana slammed into the Philippines on Saturday, causing massive flooding and killing hundreds. Early Tuesday, an 8.0 earthquake and tsunami shook the Samoa Islands, killing at least 120 and leaving thousands homeless.

The Filipino Community Center in Waipahu began collecting donations on Monday, and the fund was up to $1,200 on Tuesday with "a lot of envelopes" streaming into the office yesterday, said Toy Arre, FilCom Center president.

An all-day telethon is being held at the FilCom Center on Sunday, coinciding with similar efforts on the Neighbor Islands, Arre said. The O'ahu event will be simulcast on KNDI-AM radio from 1 to 3 p.m.

At the O'ahu office of American Samoa's governor, staff collected a smattering of goods and monetary donations. "We have water and canned food, and rice," said office staffer Molesi Sagatolu, and they are trying to secure a flight to ship items to Pago Pago.

Coralie Matayoshi, chief executive for the American Red Cross, Hawai'i chapter, said it's hard to determine how much money is coming from Hawai'i into the two relief efforts. Some Hawai'i residents are donating online while others have been calling an 800 number.

Matayoshi said there are a significant number of people of Filipino and Samoan ethnicities who will make contributions to relief efforts in both disaster areas.

"They might be tapping a little bit different constituencies," Matayoshi said.

On top of that, she said, "the people of Hawai'i are really generous."

Other organizations also announced plans to help with the relief efforts:

• The Cathedral of St. Andrew is taking up special collections at upcoming services for victims in the Philippines and the Samoas, as well as for yesterday's earthquake in Indonesia.

• Nationally, the Catholic Medical Mission Board is also gathering and sending medical supplies to the three disaster areas. The organization is accepting donated antibiotics, cough and cold medicines, as well as other medicines and medical supplies. Cash gifts will be used to defray shipping costs. Call 800-678-5659 or 212-242-7757. E-mail inquiries to bwright@cmmb.org.