Ryerson for the Philippines Solidarity Fundraiser

“Your cousins’ house is gone.”

“We’ve lost all communication with lola.”

"Your tito's family doesn't have food."

No one wants to hear that their loved ones are struggling to survive. Unfortunately, hearing stories like these is a harsh reality for many Filipinos in Toronto.

Countless families have lost their homes, their belongings, and even their livelihoods as Typhoon Rolly and Typhoon Ulysses continue to bring about new challenges for the Filipino people two months after initial impact. All the while, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring hardship leaving the people in a state of crisis. Despite this, the Philippine government has not given people the support that they need to rebuild their lives.

Over one million Filipinos have been affected by the typhoons. In the Bicol Region alone 346,000 individuals were placed into evacuation centers.

The geographic location of the Philippines has made the country prone to natural disasters. The frequency of these calamities have been exacerbated by global climate change, despite the Philippines producing some of the lowest carbon emissions per capita in the world. Yet this has not prevented the Duterte administration from cutting calamity funding by 11 billion pesos and instead allocating billions of taxpayer dollars to unnecessary military efforts.

The lack of funds and provisions offered to the Filipino people during this time demands that we take action.

We want you to help us reach our goal of raising 3000 dollars for three grassroots organizations: Sagip Migrante, Tulong Kabataan and the Student Christian Movement Philippines.

The money you donate would not only offer immediate disaster relief through food, medical aid and temporary housing, but would also allow these organizations to create a long-term, systemic solution to a systemic problem.

Rolly was a disaster. The next typhoon doesn’t have to be.

We thank you for your support and invite you to our Fundraising event on Friday, January 22nd at 7 PM EST (Saturday, January 23rd at 8 AM PHT) to hear from guest speakers, enjoy cultural performances and art showcase, and participate in our prize raffle! Please register for the event at https://bit.ly/rye4ph