The typhoon was far worse than I had realized until I got some news today that it is their Katrina.
This was my blog entry today that I want to share with you so that I can ask for your prayers and good energies...
I fast one day a month to pay the tiny contribution to a sponsored child in Children International, as part of my spiritual practice. I have a new one, Dominique, and my former one, Estelito, just graduated from the program. Some of my family and friends helped me get Estelito and his family a final gift of a cow and a caribou for their home farm to help with their future income needs. The picture I have of him in a beautiful green field with the animals they hoped to have for so many years will be in my heart forever.
But he hadn't long to enjoy them.
When I learned about the typhoon that hit their area, I wrote to the program to ask about my children. It looks like the program doesn't have the answer yet. Here is the preliminary response I received:
Thank you for contacting us.
All of us at Children International share and appreciate your concern for your sponsored child in the Philippines.
Some 36,000 sponsored children in Legazpi and Tabaco were affected when Typhoon Durian struck their communities on November 30.
Our regional staff reports that floodwaters are beginning to recede, allowing for increased rescue and recovery operations and a more accurate census of all sponsored children impacted by the disaster. However, access to sponsorship communities is still severely limited. Phone lines, electrical service and transportation routes in the region are not available at this time, and our local offices were rendered inoperable by the typhoon.
Rest assured, should we learn that your child was adversely affected by this storm, we will contact you as quickly as possible. We will also post updates to our website - www.children.org - as we receive new information about the status of sponsored children.
Until then, please consider making a donation to our relief and recovery efforts. Your generous contribution will go a long way in helping affected families put their lives back together.
Thank you once again for your concern. We will do everything we can to help sponsored children and their families overcome this terrible tragedy.
Then I saw the pictures, and posted this:
UPDATE:
Oh, my God. Please go to this link and then say a prayer.
http://www.children.org/...
CNN: http://www.cnn.com/...
Now I have to ask: is this the beginning of catastrophic climate change? If so, I know now why I'm an activist and forcing everyone I know to read Al Gore's book.
That's the global way to think. But on a more personal level I am hoping Estelito and Dominique are still alive. The news becomes real when I look at their photos.