Salamat po

By Ernesto Cullari

Over 5,000 people were killed and nearly 2,000 are still missing since Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in early November. We can easily recall the devastation and the loss that occurred on the Jersey Shore following Hurricane Sandy. Many of us are still rebuilding lives, homes and businesses. Haiyan was the most violent storm to ever make landfall and only you can begin to imagine their suffering. On behalf of my mother Lee, my step dad Matt and the 27 orphans living under their care in Bohol, the Philippines, I thank you for recently coming to their aid in such a desperate time of need. Street Kids Philippine Missions will continue to meet the needs of these children because of your generosity.

Even before the storm, the Philippines was a place of both beauty and squalor. The Philippine Islands are home to many of the world’s most alluring beaches. Yet not far from the tourist attractions and the luxurious hotels are some of the filthiest shantytowns on earth.

Imagine a neighborhood constructed of trash and debris; with walls and roofs made of cardboard, tin and sheetrock. Pirated electricity from neighboring gated enclaves lights the dark and dingy nights, for the few foolish enough to reroute the current into their hand patched shack. Fires often ravage and raze shantytowns.

Not everyone who is poor or destitute lives in shantytowns. Entire families live on doorsteps, street benches, inside cardboard boxes erected on sidewalks. Many of these are former sales clerks, teachers or small business owners. In the Philippines, there are only rich and poor. Corruption, addiction, cronyism and the mindset of those who have lived under multi-generational poverty have seen to it that the middle-class does not grow roots and flourish.

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Rebirth for The Philippines

Desperately-needed food, water, clothing and other supplies are being rushed to Typhoon Haiyan survivors in the Philippines.  But as weeks turn into months, perhaps what the hundreds of thousands left homeless will need most is hope. 

Superstorm Sandy survivors are uniquely positioned to give that hope, since they understand what it is like to see your community devastated in the blink of an eye.  By writing a simple letter sharing concern and encouragement and mailing it to “Rebirth for the Philippines,” schools, churches, scout troops and other organizations as well as individuals can let the Filipino people know they are not forgotten.  Children who can’t write can draw pictures.  What is important is to do something to brighten the lives of the survivors and reassure them that they are not alone.

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Smith’s Delegation Meets With Typhoon Victims, Rescues Helicopter Crash Survivors

Philippines Country Representative Joe Curry walks with Congressmen Al Green, Trent Franks, and Chris Smith through areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan during a congressional visit to Leyte, Philippines. Photo Credit: Kent Truog

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) and his bipartisan congressional delegation (CODEL) which traveled to the region devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan, locally called Typhoon Yolanda, meeting with victims of the typhoon, emergency workers and U.S. and Filipino government officials, are set to depart the Philippines today.

“It’s mind numbing and heart numbing,” Smith said. “I’ve been to many places around the world when there have been catastrophic typhoons hurricanes, earthquakes and even more. It is powerful to witness the Filipino people’s resiliency in the face of devastation, in the face the loss of life.”

Smith, who is joined on the trip by Reps. Al Green (D-TX-09), and Trent Franks (R-AZ-08), saw for himself the typhoon’s devastation in Tacloban City and surrounding areas in Leyte.

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Typhoon Haiyan: Day 17

By Ernesto Cullari

Janine Cinseruli and Kimberly Perkins of Seagrass Restaurant, 68 Main Ave in Ocean Grove, are sponsoring a benefit dinner on behalf of Street Kids Philippine Missions on Wednesday December 4^th at 6pm. Tickets are $50 each, cocktail hour is from 6pm to 7pm. Act now, there are only 35 more dinner reservations left. Artist Roddy Wildeman has donated a magnificent piece for auction that was inspired and constructed from debris and found wood following Hurricane Sandy. To register for the dinner Online add Ernesto Cullari on Facebook.

We all remember what it was like to live through Hurricane Sandy and the days that followed without heat or electricity. The long lines for gas and food were humbling. My friends and I would boil water and pour it in with cold bath water whenever any of us needed to wash up. We wandered about in the dark with flashlights and battery operated radios. Hot coffee and cooked food was truly splendid. We helped each other by using Facebook to figure out which stations had gasoline or who needed clothing. We rescued each other.

A year later many of you are still recovering from construction or dealing with insurance companies that don’t want to honor their obligations to you. Now take everything you experienced, every hardship and every setback and put yourself in the position of someone living in the Third world, a place like the Philippines. The islands are so vast and numerous, it could take many years before their government reaches them with significant help. By then it will be too late.

I went 10 days without electricity following Hurricane Sandy. What takes 10 days here could realistically take 6 months where my mother is in the Philippines. My mother Lee who operates Street Kids Philippine Missions, an orphanage filled with 27 children and teens in Bohol, has estimated that it could take 6 months for electricity to be restored to their part of the island.

My mother reports that lines for clean drinking water, a badly needed necessity, are 3 hours long. “Everything is 3 times as expensive now because all the store operators must use gas or diesel generators to keep the refrigerators and lights on,” she said. They must wash their clothes by hand and hope that their clothing can manage to dry before becoming mildewy from the Philippine’s intensely humid climate.

In spite of their hardships and the devastation that surrounds them, my step dad Matt writes with joy and optimism:

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Knowing where the money goes

For too many of us in New Jersey, it is not hard to imagine what life is like after a catastrophic storm.  We just have to remember what we were doing one year ago.

We also know the difference between charitable acts and contributions that met immediate needs and those that meet long term recovery needs.  Some of us will never forget the kindness and generosity we gave or received immediately after Sandy;  meals, supplies, shelter, a shower, a place to charge a cell phone, cleaning out a destroyed home.  Some of us are still filling out forms in the hopes of getting needed long term recovery aid.

As we confront, or deflect, the images coming from the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, we are fortunate to have a way to contribute that will make an immediate impact to the survival of 27 orphans.

Street Kids Philippine Missions is a orphanage with 501 C tax status run by our friend Ernesto Cullari’s mother, Lee.  Lee and her husband Matthew founded the orphanage in February or 2010 in Bohol.  They started caring for 6 children.  Now they are raising 27 children.   In 2012, Lee and Matthew cared for the children with a budget of $2000.00 per month. Amazing.

Today, in the aftermath of Haiyan, they need food, clean water and clothes and power. They are purifying their water with chemical tablets.

StreetKidsPM is hoping to raise $30,000 to recover from Haiyan. $1,111 per child.  They need water purification equipment, generators, food and clothing.

Please make a one time contribution, or enroll to make  monthly contributions to StreetKidsPM here.

Also, Cullari is holding a fundraiser on Wednesday December 4th from 6PM till 9PM at SeaGrass Restaurant in Occean Grove.  Tickets to the fundraiser are only $50 and can be purchased here.

For questions or to make offline reservations to the fundraiser, call Ernesto at 732-504-4506.

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