Humanist Charities Raise Over $25,000 for Typhoon Haiyan Relief
A big thank you goes out to all of our members who contributed generously to the Philippine Typhoon Relief Fund and the Philippine Atheist and Agnostic Society (PATAS)! Read an update from PATAS founder, Marissa Langseth.
In just two days, the American Humanist Association’s Humanist Charities raised $25,611 for the Philippine Typhoon Relief Fund! Humanist Charities will donate all money raised to the Philippine Atheists & Agnostics Society (PATAS), which will lead volunteer relief efforts in areas that require the greatest need.
Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Typhoon Yolanda) hit the Philippines over the weekend of November 8 and has so far claimed nearly 4,000 lives with thousands more injured and millions of dollars in damage to homes and buildings. The typhoon is being called the deadliest disaster to hit the Philippines in history.
Humanist Charities connected to the Philippine Atheists & Agnostic Society (PATAS) through Marissa Langseth, the organization’s founder and director who is also a member of the American Humanist Association. After the typhoon hit, Luna Emperatrice, a member of PATAS who lives in the Philippines, shared potential post-typhoon dangers that affected Filipinos:
For those people who did survive the storm, another problem looms over the horizon. They are left homeless and penniless, everything they owned are gone. Some families lost more than their material possessions with their loved ones dying or are already dead due to the typhoon. Many of these people are now left exposed to the elements as they try to pick up the pieces of what is left to them and start anew. Fear of cases of diarrhea and other medical conditions rising is another concern many people are thinking of.
Volunteers from the Cebu Chapter of PATAS were on Hilutungan Island in the town of Bantayan on November 17, 2013 to pack and distribute boxes of food, water and supplies to victims of Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Typhoon Yolanda). PATAS volunteers distributed over 700 packs of relief goods to families on the island.
In a message to Humanist Charities, Langseth wrote:
I extend my sincerest gratitude to the American Humanist Association (AHA), on behalf of the whole PATAS community, for the very special mention and joining us in our initiative to give humanitarian efforts to those who have been terribly affected by the most destructive typhoon to ever hit the Philippines.
This catastrophe unfolded the unpreparedness of its people and its government, in general. The country cannot redress the casualties on its own feet. Thus, we thank you for your compassion to effectively disseminate information and means to aid the typhoon victims in this hour of overwhelming crisis to bigger multitudes.
We really hope that you will continue to give arms to those who need one in case the country fails to hold on to the “God” it has long been believing in. Today is not the appropriate occasion to mock the failure of what it refers to as the Supreme Being to protect this highly monotheistic nation, but soon it will be.
Volunteers from PATAS will keep us updated on the relief efforts. Please visit www.humanistcharities.org for the latest, and you can continue to support Humanist Charities’ Philippine Typhoon Relief Fund through the end of the year.