Supporting Progressive Grassroots Organizations in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) estimates that 9.8 million people in and around the city of Tacloban in the Visayas region of the Philippines have been affected by Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda and that at least 660,000 of the affected people were forced from their homes. And authorities fear as many as 10,000 people have died. With the continued threat of landslides and flash floods from additional storms, it is crucial that survivors get access to clean water, food, and shelter as soon as possible.
Although Grassroots International does not currently have a program in the Philippines, we recognize that in addition to the widespread devastation in the region, groups engaged in ongoing struggles for social and economic justice are also affected. For those Grassroots International supporters who wish to directly support progressive groups working in the region, we have posted this list of organizations to which you can donate. Grassroots International has not necessarily funded or vetted these groups, so donors must use their own discretion. However, each of these groups is recommended to us by long term Grassroots International partners and allies in the region that we trust and have supported, such as the World March of Women and Focus on the Global South. Coalition Against Trafficking in Women-Asia Pacific (CATW-AP is a member of the World March of Women) – Philippines-based organizationBank: Metrobank – Annapolis GreenhillsAccount Name: CATW-APUS Dollar Account Number: 154-2-154-001373Swift Code: MBTCPHMMXXXPeso/Savings Account: 154-3-154-06584-0Contact details: (02) 434-2149 or Jean Enriquez (jeanenriquez@yahoo.com) or Clydie Pasia (clydie_pasia@yahoo.com.ph)Transport and Target Area: People’s Caravan, private choppers, Eastern Samar, Leyte (Ormoc, coastal barangays of Tacloban) Transform Asia: Gender and Labor Institute – Philippines-based organizationBank: Metrobank, Anonas Branch Aurora Blvd., Project 4Account Name: Transform Asia Gender and Labor InstituteAccount Number: 304-2-304004562Swift Code: MBTCPHMMFor PayPal/credit card donations, you can find a direct link here: http://transform-asia.org/Contact details: (+63)9088877702, (02) 439-5811 or transform.asia1@gmail.comTransport and Target: People’s Caravan, Samar and Leyte Gabriela: National Alliance of Women – Philippines-based organization that you can also make online donations to in the USBank: Metrobank – Examiner St., BranchAccount Name: Gabriela, Inc.Account Number: 6363636057747Swift Code: MBTCPHMMContact details: (+63) 23744423 or Joan Salvador (+63) 9228895626 or Obeth Montes (+63) 9228286242Online donations at http://gabrielaphilippines.weebly.com/ Alliance of Progressive Labor – Philippines-based organizationBank: BPI – Timog BranchAccount Name: Labor Education and Research Network (LEARN)Account Number: 0273-130292Contact person: Marlene Sindayen, +639228409594Target: Cebu, Bacolod, Samar, Leyte
National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) – US-based organization
NAFCON will transfer monetary donations to BALSA—Bayanihan Alay sa Sambayanan (Peoples Cooperation for the People)—whose relief efforts are led by all volunteer grassroots and community-driven organizations.
Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action (TIGRA) – US-based organization
TIGRA will transfer monetary donations to grassroots organizations in Northern Cebu and Bantayan Island.
See also these articles: “Yolanda: the Messenger” by Filipino Congressman (and founder of Focus on the Global South) Walden Bello on climate change and the typhoon, and by Aura Bogado in The Nation.