Rebuilding Cathy’s Home

Due to additional donations collected by our very generous colleagues, we will re-open the link until tomorrow 12 noon Manila time.

Cathy has written a letter to all and I will upload that in the next update.

Once again, thank you all for your kindness.

Once again, we would like to thank everyone for your generosity and kindness! In 7 days we have overachieved our target because of your contribution. Apart from our online fundraising, we have also received substantial financial donations from various anonymous donors. All your efforts have given Cathy and her family the support they need to start anew.

To give you better context, the money we have raised will allow Cathy to build a better and stronger house- this is a 20sqm house with a room, bathroom and kitchen. It will be the same as she had before but this time, with your help, she can use stronger concrete and better building materials. The additional funds will also go into furnishing the house and paying for a temporary place where they can stay while the house is being rebuilt.

All this would not be possible without your support. We cannot say thank you enough. We will be closing down the fundraising campaign by end of day tomorrow so Cathy and her family can start building.

We will continue to update you so you can see the home that you all helped build!

Thank you everyone for the outpour of love and support!

I spoke to Cathy on the phone yesterday to give her an update of our fundraising campaign. She has not visited the site yet as she has no access to the internet at the moment so I sent her snapshots of the website, the amount we have raised and the messages from her supporters. She was crying throughout the update as she could not believe that this was possible, that there were so many people who wanted to help and that they did not have to go through this alone.

As of yesterday, they have moved out of the temporary shelter provided by the city and moved in with a neighbour whose house was spared from the fire. They will stay here until they find a better place for them to stay while they rebuild the house. They have started scouting for affordable contractors and construction materials so hopefully will be able to start rebuilding soon.

They have also received donations in kind - clothes, electric fan and milk from AMS colleagues in Manila.

Message from Cathy:

"We are really grateful to everyone who gave their hearts in their donations. My family is overwhelmed with the overflowing love everyone has shown. We would like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for all the help. May God bless us all."