Volunteers from ACT member National Council of Churches in the Philippines packing relief items for distribution to the victims of typhoon Haiyan. Photo: ACT/NCCP
People wanting to donate money to aid and relief for victims of Typhoon Haiyan that has devastated the Philippines and neighbouring countries have an opportunity to magnify their donations with matching dollars from the Canadian government until Dec. 9
The government has announced that it will match monetary donations from individual Canadians that are earmarked for Typhoon Haiyan and given to registered charities, which includes Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF), dollar for dollar between Nov. 9 and Dec. 9 up to a limit of $100,000.
Earlier this week, the U.N. Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that the Nov. 8 category 5 typhoon displaced more than 615,000 people and killed more than 1,200, with those numbers expected to rise.
In the immediate aftermath, PWRDF announced that it was releasing an inital grant of $20,000 through the ecumenical relief and development agency ACT Alliance to help provide food, water, medicine and hygiene items for those affected. The PWRDF announcement noted that the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), one of PWRDF’s long-time partners in the region, is helpingto implement the ACT aid.
Canadian relief agencies may also apply to the Typhoon Haiyan Relief Fund to enhance relief projects in the Philippines for additional funding for projects in the area.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby issued a message of support to those affected by the typhoon: “The news of the devastating storm in the Philippines is tragic, and my heart goes out to the people there. We are all deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the loss of thousands of lives and of the suffering of millions as a result of Typhoon Haiyan.
Our prayers are with all who have lost loved ones and all those who are traumatised by the disaster and in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical attention. We pray for those who are most vulnerable in this crisis: children separated from their parents, the sick and injured, the disabled and the elderly.”
He also called on people throughout the Anglican Communion to aid victims. “As a Church, we will stand beside the people of the Philippines at this devastating time, offering all we can in practical and spiritual support as the scale of the disaster unfolds.”
The World Council of Churches also voiced its support for those affected. “Together with all member churches of the fellowship, Christians and people of all faiths around the world, we pause and pray for those who have been affected by this disaster…. We pray for the safety of all involved in the clean-up and rebuilding and for those survivors of the storm who lost loved ones, some in the most dramatic way, where their children or family members were literally swept from their arms,” the statement said. It also noted that many of the WCC member churches are working through ACT Alliance on relief and aid in the area.
The WCC also added that “in these cataclysmic events that it is most often the poor who suffer and have the most difficult challenge to rebuild their lives with few resources. We call upon aid agencies and governments not to forget the poorest, from whom the little they had has been taken away.”
The WCC also pointed to “changing weather patterns and the increasing intensity of storms,” as a possible factor. “We pray that all of us will do our part to reverse the warming of the oceans and remember that it is the poor who will suffer first and the most in any weather disaster.”
People wanting to donate to relief efforts through PWRDF can make a donation:
Online to the “Typhoon Haiyan” fund.
By Phone
For credit card donations contact:
Jennifer Brown
416-924-9192 ext. 355; 1-866-308-7973
Please do not send your credit card number by email or fax.
By Mail
Please make cheques payable to “PWRDF”, mark them for “Typhoon Haiyan” and send them to:
The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund
The Anglican Church of Canada
80 Hayden Street
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 3G2
With files from Anglican Communion News Service and World Council of Churches