United in the pursuit to lend a hand, the Atheist Republic Manila (AR) teamed up with fellow nonreligious organization Humanist Alliance Philippines International (HAPI) and launched their first wave of relief operations for the Marawi siege victims last June 7.
The initiative began over a group chat on Facebook the day after the event when concerned members of the said groups expressed the desire to assist in relief operations for the victims of the attack. Consequently, members set a social media campaign on the platform with the main hashtag #UnitedForMarawi. The International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization (IHEYO) further helped in spreading the campaign across the said social network to help raise funds to finance the project.
By June 5, the organizations have amassed a total of Php29,600.00 as funding, with AR Manila consolidating Php21,100.00 of the said amount. Procurement and packaging of relief goods were both completed on June 6, and delivery and distribution commenced on June 7. The organizations were able to generate a total of 242 repackaged goods. Each relief pack contained 1 kilogram of rice, 2 cans of sardines, 2 packs of instant noodles, and 4 sachets of hot chocolate mix. Other expenditures for the relief goods included food and transportation expenses for the volunteers.
Distribution of the relief packs involved selecting one specific purok (county) to ensure that the prepared commodities are enough to fit the needs of the home-based evacuees, with the excess packs surrendered to the local government unit (LGU). The relief packs were given to Purok Celdran Village in Brgy. Tubod, Iligan City, with 191 confirmed home-based evacuees. Each family received 1 relief pack in the said program. A detailed report on the said initiative is readily available for further facts and figures on the first wave of relief operations.
The second wave of operations is set to commence on July 29, with the deadline for donations on July 26. Donations collected will be used to purchase slippers and medicine, to be supplied to the children in the affected area. Monetary contributions may be sent to AR Manila’s official PayPal account, armanilaconsulate@gmail.com.
For further inquiries, interested contributors and/or volunteers may contact Ms. Aizy Rice at (+63) 927 420 7225.
Photo Credits: NY Times
