ACM Staff React Quickly to Flood Victims in Philippine

On October 18, 2009, Typhoon Parma passed over the Northern part of the Philippine Islands for the third time, leaving in it's wake massive destruction and more than 200 casualties. Baguio City, and the surrounding areas were at the center of the storm, and experienced extensive flooding and landslides.

On the worst night of the storm (Friday, October 9) the Baguio City, Apostolos Campus Ministry was wrapping up the last day of their retreat. We were gathered together for a night of celebrating together, and commissioning the students for outreach. Little did we know that the next day we would be facing the aftermath of the worst natural disaster to hit the Philippines since the earthquake of 1990. All of the staff and students committed to focus 100% of their attention on bringing relief to those who needed it most.

We had no idea how to go about organizing a relief effort, but everybody on the team had different gifts they could contribute and soon things started to come together. Some of the team went out to town to research which areas were hit the hardest, and what relief supplies were needed most. Others began making phone calls to their friends, families and churches and asking them to donate money to purchase relief goods. Our base accountant began organizing the accounting system and coordinating with other mission organizations and charities on the best ways to get the money here fast.

By the next day (Sunday) we had received enough donations to go out and start purchasing relief goods. All of us skipped church (a rare occurrence), and went out to raid the supermarket. We started with a budget of just over $2,000 dollars which we were able to stretch by negotiating discounts of up to 50%. We spent the rest of the day putting together 144 care packages, containing two blankets, a sleeping mat, 6 litres of fresh water, 3 kilograms of rice, and other various food products.

Through this experience we have learned that you don't need to have a lot of skill to help people, all you need is a willing heart.

Contact us to donate to relief efforts in the Philippines.