Isang grupo ng mga Pinoy sa Australia ang aktibong
tumutulong sa mga nasa lantanang lindol sa Cebu
noong nakarang buwan, ang nag-o-organize na naman
ngayon kung paano makakapaghatid ng ayuda sa mga
kababayang hinagupit ng Bagyong Tino. Nakapanayam
ng SBS Filipino si Ginang Nelia Ciar, na Pangulo
ng Cebuano Association of Australia na nakabase sa
Victoria. Ibinahagi niya ang nararanasang lungkot
ng kanilang grupo sa pagsubok na kinakaharap ng
lalawigan at paano sila nagsasagawa ng mga
aktividad sa Australia para may maipadalang
tulong. During the earthquake calamity that hits
mostly in northern Cebu, we actually doing a
campaign to call out all the Cebuanos and friends
and most of the Filipino communities in Melbourne
actually responded generously. So we actually done
the drive and we have helped a lot of Cebuanos in
northern Cebu and we actually partnered with a lot
of volunteers in that area to actually covered
most of the, most especially the ones that are in
the remote places. Kasi hindi yun ma-reach out
talaga ng mga tulad ng nasa main roads. So we did
that and it was very successful and we are still
actually puling out to friends to steal and donate
monetary donations so we could be able to actually
we have actually done a bit of collections now and
we are planning to actually disseminate it on near
Christmas so they could be able to feel at least a
little Christmas in spite of what happened but
then Tino came and at the moment I don't have a
good update from them because The flood is
receding at the moment, but it's easing a bit, but
they are still in what we call survival mode. So
we don't know the extent of how devastated they
are on that typhoon, but we are closely monitoring
it. So we actually doing our best. So must be a
little bit So, because we believe that in little
things, big things grow. So, at least we are doing
this kind of thing. Although we are very far away
from them, we can still share, you know, we can
still support them a little bit. So, this is
actually, what we do is we do it directly. So, we
have volunteers there that are from our friends
and relatives and from Some of the friends that
are really helping us, volunteering their time to
help. So I would like also to send a message of
thanks on behalf of the Cebuan Association of
Australia and the affected families and
communities in northern Cebu. Our heartfelt
gratitude to the Filipino communities in Melbourne
for your kindness, compassion, and generosity. We
hope for the best. Nakakalungkot po yun ang mga
nangyari na magkasunod. Kayo po ba, ano po yung
unan ninyong naramdaman nung unan ninyong nalaman
na ganto na naman yung nangyari sa inyong
probinsa, inyong hometown? Oh, we are so sad. And
before, you know that when there's an alert, So we
are praying. Actually we are having, because we
also lead up the Sinulog here and the prayers of
the Nine Days Novena. We are organizing now for
the Simbang Gabi here in Cranbourne. We also have
community prayers for the people in our hometown
because really there is no word we can say the
sadness and And the fear we have for the safety of
the people, not only our relatives, but all the
people that came there, especially the old and the
young." Q. Kayo po ba may personal na kamag-anak o
mga mahal sa buhay sa Cebu na naapektuhan po? Yes,
madami po. Meron akong uncle doon kasi usually
most of my family, my direct family are here. But
I still have cousins and uncles and relatives
there that actually they are also volunteering in
helping other families. Through them, I can
actually reach out and actually identify all those
people that really, really need help. The people
that cannot, They don't have any other source of
help other than the government. So what we're
doing is we identify all those old and very poor
families that they couldn't be able to actually
get the immediate help that we even need a little
bit. So my relatives, they're helping as well.
Although they are victims, they are also extending
hmm mm Ang inyong mga kamag-anak, sila po ba
binaha ng bagyong tino? na check niyo po ba kung
anong kalagayan nila at the moment
kakatawag ko lang kaninang umaga so binaha sila
pero sabi nila they are safe
some of my relatives are in Lapu-Lapu City
they're saying they are in the second floor
so they are safe But also they haven't had a
chance of doing cleanup yet because although the
flood is actually easing a bit, but they still
cannot go down because the water is still there
and the rain doesn't stop yet. They can't say,
actually they can't say how bad it is at the
moment because they are in the mood of surviving
at the moment. So at least they have the warning
so they could be able to actually store some food
before this happens. So yeah, that's what I heard
this morning. Ano po yung inyong gusto din
naisipanawagan bago man nabanggit niyo na kanina
yung inyong mga ginagawa din? Lalo na sa mga
kababayan nandito sa Australia, yung mga Pinoy sa
Australia na maaaring tumulong po sa mga kababayan
natin na nangailangan sa Pilipinas? Anyone who
wishes to help, may send their donation directly
to our association's account. And most of the
people that is in our network in the Filipino
community because I'm very active in our community
as well. They already been, I have reached out to
them and they already been helping. And some
individuals actually even a little amount already
have been doing that. So they could be able to
reach out through our website. We have actually a
group at the Cebuan Association of Australia
group. Yeah, through that they can reach out and
they can be able to help.
