Online 'bayanihan' for typhoon victims
By Kris Danielle Suarez, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/31/2009 11:00 PM
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Student Calamity Fund a response those in need back home
Filipino students Christine Pangilinan (2nd fr R) and Raya Barcelon (R), outgoing president and president-elect respectively of the Filipino Students Society of the University of New South Wales (FSSU), during their "Ketsana Appeal" fundraising drive at the UNSW Sydney Campus. (Ruel Rombaoa/Student Calamity Fund)
MANILA - When Boston University graduate student Thea Cuaso first heard about tropical storm Ondoy (international code name Ketsana) a few weeks back, she shrugged it off as "just one of those typhoons" constantly visiting her home countty.
But when she logged in to her Facebook account, she soon discovered Ondoy was different - all of a sudden, she said, her Facebook home page was "literally flooded - no pun intended - with "messages of missing students, of buildings... that people could seek refuge in, and of people who had to leave their cars because the flood had reached their windshields."
Jennifer Kelly, an MBA student at Harvard, meanwhile, was worried about friends and family back home when she heard of the storm, but she said she did not realize the gravity of the damage until she read messages and photos about the disaster being posted online.
"There was no news whatsoever in the US so I could only get my information from friends and family," Kelly said.
Cuaso and Kelly were not alone. At that time, Filipinos across the world could only watch in horror as those back home faced Ondoy's wrath.
"I have seen the devastation of calamities first hand before and I felt it was absolutely unacceptable not to help," Kelly, who once worked in reconstruction efforts in tsunami-hit Aceh, Indonesia, said.
As news from the Philippines trickled in, she found herself exchanging emails on how she and other Filipino students could raise donations for the victims.
"Myself and a couple of students from Columbia (Gian Valerio) and University of Pennsylvania (Bennett Aquino) and Harvard (Gena Chua) were emailing each other about how we could raise a bit of money for the victims," she narrated.
However, they soon found out it won't be an easy task. They did not exactly know the extent of the damage back home; they did not know where and how to send their donations as quickly as possible; and, they had to act quickly to reach the victims fast.
"That’s when I realized that there could be many students and schools around the world trying to figure out the same things," she said. Under these circumstances, the Student Calamity Fund (SCF) was born.
Internet-based effort
Essentially, the SCF is an internet-based effort, where students (not just Filipinos) around the world can access information on relief efforts for the victims of the calamities, and an avenue to help each other in implementing efforts in their respective campuses.
Their efforts can be divided into two: one on the level of the SCF, as the "umbrella" organization, and on the level of the school/area groups.
The SCF, Kelly explained, as an organization, acts as the main clearinghouse for schools and student groups for information, ideas, and resources, and is the main conduit for information that would be of importance to all.
The SCF also helps in partnering with organizations, such as the Red Cross and Philippine Airlines, that could help these student groups in their relief efforts.
Each school or student group are are the ones who conduct relief drives, awareness campaigns, and other activities within their respective campuses or areas. There are currently more than 25 school-based efforts and counting.
These school or area organizations have different methods of collecting donations.
For example, the students in Harvard University have initiated a "pass an envelope in class" initiative; those in Columbia University and the Kennedy School of Government put up booths and boxes where people can drop off donations; while some schools have planned events to raise funds like panel discussions, charity dinners, and even a concert in the works.
"In the beginning, we were only 3 schools, and now we’re more than 25! When a school reached out to us, we were able to loop them in immediately and helped them in defining the best strategy for their school and gave them templates and other materials so that they could launch efforts with minimal start-up work," Kelly said.
She also said that the "chapters" of the SCF are independent, but they share information and resources freely.
"We fed off each others ideas (and energy!), shared what we have achieved so far and how we achieved them, and of course, cheered on everyone's wins," Trisha Tan, an MBA student at the London Business School, said.
Social networking sites a big help
Social networking web sites, particularly Facebook, made the job of coordinating relief efforts easy for the SCF.
"Facebook was a great source of information. Not only did it keep us updated about things that were happening at home, but we were also able to mobilize a relief effort fairly quickly with the networks we had here," Valerie Tan, a History/International Relations student at Boston University, said.
Valerie and Trisha Tan are sisters.
"Thea (Cuaso) found out about SCF through facebook, and likewise we were able to spread word about our relief drive (called project BU-nihan) through Facebook as well," she said.
They sent out invitations about their relief drive on a Wednesday, and by the next day were able to collect 2 boxes of clothes.
Aside from the fast response, Kelly said utilizing social networking sites made the scaling up of efforts faster, and allowed for real-time coordination and "user-generated" content. Aside from that Kelly said, "It was cheap! No need to spend as much on posters."
Jonas Gonzales, also an MBA student at the LBS, said the group enabled their group at their school to come up with better ideas on how to raise money for the victims.
"I was really amazed with the concerted effort from the students and the collaborative atmosphere that was ever-present in the group (even if it was just online)," Gonzales said.
Gonzales said the manner of the group's growth was "viral," growing significantly to include Filipinos from other schools who were not yet contacted before in just a few days. "I remember saying to myself, 'this type of campaign would not have been possible 10 years ago,'" he added.
Not just for 'Ondoy'
Kelly said that their efforts won't just be limited to bringing relief for the victims, but will extend to rehabilitation efforts, leveraging on their large student base to address issues on the reconstruction efforts even after the noise has died down.
There could also be plans to make the group a "permanent unity of schools and students" that would work together for relief efforts, Kelly said.
"We have created great infrastructure and resources as well as had many learnings on the most effective practices. We plan to improve our current infrastructure, document best practices and pass this on to future students/schools so that we can be even faster and be more effective in helping when future calamities strike – so we can make an impact even when far away and spread out across the world," she said.
'Bayanihan,' Pinoys and foreigners alike
The volunteers' experience with the SCF did not just show Filipinos' compassion for their kababayans in need. They also said it showed that in times of great need, every effort to help those in dire straits counts.
"Many people (in our university) didn't know too many Filipinos but offered to help, some even asking their former colleagues to donate to the cause," Trisha Tan said. "It was viral."
"It was exhilarating to find people who selflessly gave without asking questions, without reservations and without expecting anything in return," Cuaso said.
"I think that my key realization from this experience is that assistance and aid aren't confined to governments. There are so many people from all over the world who feel for us, and genuinely want to help. The world cares, and they will do all it can to help. I find this very heartwarming," Trisha Tan said.
"Even if we were far away from home, we were very happy to find ways to help. and even if we were far away from home, you see bayanihan in action, with both Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike," Valerie Tan said.
"They might not know they were engaging in bayanihan, but we knew, and we were very grateful. The experience taught us to see that human beings, and not just the Filipinos, are very compassionate people," she added.
"It was a great experience because even though we’re (Filipino students) far away from home, we were able to contribute in helping people out. Though it may sound a bit cynical, it also showed me that people (still) do care, that people want to reach out." Gonzales said.
For students and student groups who are interested in helping out via the SCF, go to their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=174267596222, or email typhoonketsana@gmail.com.
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