Accenture mobilizes $2-M for 'Yolanda' relief efforts

MANILA, Philippines - Accenture said it has mobilized more than $2 million in cash and pro-bono contributions to support disaster relief and reconstruction efforts in typhoon-hit Philippines.

"Our thoughts remain with our colleagues, their families and the people of the Philippines, as we commit to supporting the rebuilding process," Pierre Nanterme, Accenture Chairman & CEO, said.

Accenture and the Accenture Foundations will donate $1 million to Skills to Succeed strategic partner Plan International. Cash grants will offer support for long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts required to enable communities to rebuild through skills development and economic activity.

Accenture Development Partnerships will also deliver pro-bono consulting services to Plan International during the reconstruction phase, when business and technology expertise offer the greatest impact in areas such as skills building and job training.

Accenture employees around the world have contributed more than $600,000 to the Philippine Red Cross and other charities providing local relief.

Accenture is providing employees in the Philippines with paid volunteering time to support relief operations.

"In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, we hope to make a sustainable difference to the long-term economic vitality and resilience of individuals, families and communities in the Philippines," Jill Huntley, managing director – Global Corporate Citizenship at Accenture, said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

David Beckham donates clothes for 'Yolanda' victims

MANILA - Celebrity couple David and Victoria Beckham donated 20 boxes of designer clothes and shoes to the British Red Cross in London to help raise funds for the victims of typhoon 'Yolanda.'

The collection reportedly included suits and shoes estimated to be worth at around £800 or P56,000 each.

Victoria Beckham, formerly known as Posh Spice of the "Spice Girls," encouraged more people to do the same.

"Everyone has something in their closet they were holding on to - a dress, suit, or pair of shoes they thought they might wear again," she said.

"Dig them out, bag them up, drop them off and give someone else the chance to buy them, raising much-needed funds for the Red Cross aid effort."

Earlier this month, other British celebrities, led by boy band One Direction, held a telethon on London's iconic BT Tower to answer the "Typhoon Appeal" of UK's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

And according to the official Facebook page of the DEC, as of Thursday, the umbrella charity organization already raised more than £55 million or around P3.8 billion for those affected by the super typhoon.

“Survivors of the disaster desperately need a huge amount of help both now and in the months to come, so this money will literally support people to rebuild their lives,” said DEC Chief Executive, Saleh Saeed in the Facebook post.

As of November 21, the death toll from Yolanda stands at 4,011, while 1,602 remain missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

The NDRRMC said at least 2.1 million families or 9.9 million individuals were affected by 'Yolanda.'

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

German Red Cross continues PH relief flights

BERLIN - The German Red Cross has loaded another aid flight for the victims of typhoon "Haiyan" which is expected to start Tuesday from the airport Berlin-Schoenefeld for the Philippines.

The German Red Cross said that the plane is expected to fly directly to the island of Cebu and carries a total of 53 tonnes of cargo, among them supplies for the water and hygienic sustainance for about 20,000 people.

"The need is immense and tremendous. So we will have to continue in bringing in supplies from here as well as from the region," said the head for international cooperation of the German Red Cross, Christof Johnen. "And that is on the water and sanitation sector but as well of course shelter is an immense problem and a tremendous challenge there. As well as food and basic health services that have to be provided."

Johnen said that the co-ordination is going rather well. But what remains a major challenge is the logistics. "You have a number of islands, although roads are cleared, more and more. Accessing really the people in remote areas remains a challenge and that will be our focus for the next weeks."

The cargo is complimented by two so called inter-agency emergency health kits, which includes basic medicines and other medical supplies for roughly 60,000 people for a month, said Johnen.

In addition to the supplies, the cargo plane will also carry building materials for a co-ordination centre as well as three Red Cross off-road vehicles.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Dutch fundraising drive hits P1-B for Yolanda survivors

HOLLAND - A national fundraising campaign was initiated by Dutch aid organizations and media outlets to help the victims of typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan).

On Monday morning, the telephone lines at the Institute for Sound and Images in Hilversum, the Netherlands opened for receiving donations via Giro555, a national fundraising campaign launched by Stichting Samenwerkend Hulporganisaties Sho, a cooperation of aid agencies in the Netherlands.

They partnered with Dutch media outlets including Public Omroep, SBS6 and RTL to raise funds to help the survivors of typhoon Yolanda.

A national fund raising drive is usually done whenever a big tragedy happens like the earthquake in Haiti and the tsunami in Southeast Asia.

"It is really a splendid day of getting together and feeling that we are connected in humanity here and we are connected to the Philippines, and [the] Philippines is connected to us here in the Netherlands and that's a tremendous feeling even though the situation is really horrendous," said Henri van Eeghen, fundraising chairman.

Dutch celebrities, media personalities, singers, beauty queens and regular Dutch people joined the fundraising drive that lasted until midnight. Some auctioned their belongings, others volunteered in answering the phones. Other also performed for the volunteers while Filipinos distributed home-cooked Pinoy meals to them.

"I am very shocked about what has happened and we get so many stories via social media and of course I had to participate because I really want to help the Filipinos. Everyone sees the Filipino people as very strong and happy people, even when they are down, even when something like this happens, people can still smile and it's very beautiful to see and they are a great example for people around the world," said Cystine Carreon.




TV host Britt Dekker visited in the Philippines last year. She was shocked and touched upon watching the wreckage brought by the typhoon.

In a translation she said, "I have never cried so hard in any movie than I did when I was watching the news, the images. It was so terrible. We can donate money but we can also give our time and effort."

At the end of the day, Giro555 was able to raise more than 18.5 million euros or more than one billion pesos. This will be donated to nine organizations that are already active in relief operations in rehabilitations in the Philippines, including Oxfam Novib, Terres de Hommes, Icco Kerk in Actie, Save the Children, Red Cross, Care Nederland, Unicef, Cordaid Mensen In Nood and World Vision.

"Some portion of it will go to immediate relief efforts. Some of them will go to actually start building houses, get microfinance going and a number of other things to help people get into their own sustainable situation again where they can start taking care of themselves, have children go to school, have sanitation facilities, hospitals to have running again and so on," said Eeghen.

Filipinos who participated in the event in Hilversum were teary-eyed with the tremendous help that the Dutch people extended.

"Sa ganitong panahon talagang nandyan sila para sa atin. In behalf of the Filipinos living here in Holland, I would like to express my gratitude to the Dutch people, to the Dutch government for the support they had given to us during this dreadful disaster," said Meryl Jansen.

Giro555 will continue to receive donations after the televised fundraising marathon. This is on top of the two million euros already given by the Dutch government, as well as donations from individuals and groups who are continuously rallying for the victims of Yolanda.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Switzerland extends P1-B aid for Yolanda survivors

MANILA - A national fund raising drive by Swiss Solidarity and the Swiss government has so far generated more than P1-billion for the survivors of super typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines.

"To fund the Swiss relief efforts, the Swiss Federal Government released P281 million (CHF 6
million) in immediate disaster assistance. A national fund raising drive undertaken by “Swiss Solidarity”  to help Philippine disaster victims netted P760 million (CHF 16.1 million) by Monday evening, 18 November 2013, bringing the combined amount mobilized so far by the Swiss government and “Swiss Solidarity” alone to more than PHP 1 billion. Individuals, NGOs and companies in Switzerland continue to mobilize funding to assist the typhoon victims," the Embassy of Switzerland in Manila said in a statement.

Switzerland was quick to respond to the disaster by deploying teams of experts to seriously affected areas in Northern Cebu and Western Leyte.

"The experts of the Swiss Humanitarian Assistance Teams were the first foreign aid workers to help the gravely affected populations in Bogo, Daan Bantayan and Bantayan Island in Cebu and in Naval/Biliran and Ormoc in Western Leyte," the embassy said.

Currently, there are 20 professionals, medical doctors and health specialists, water and sanitation engineers, shelter experts and logisticians working round the clock out of their hub in Cebu City.

They continue to provide food and kitchen sets as well as hygiene and shelter-kits, which are procured locally, to tens of thousands of victims.

As of Monday, 21 tons of medical kits, food packs and shelter materials were shipped by air from Switzerland and distributed in coordination with local authorities to the needy in the disaster area.

Some of the Swiss government funds will be allocated to Switzerland’s international partner agencies.

Meanwhile, the embassy dispatched to Cebu and Leyte its consular personnel to assists Swiss citizens affected by the typhoon.

Swiss citizens in the affected areas are requested to contact the Swiss Embassy at 0917 528 5460.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com