Toronto Filipino-Canadians focus on aid post Haiyan

Filipino-Canadians in the Toronto area are stepping up relief efforts after the world's most powerful storm of the year struck the Philippines on Nov. 8. It's all many can do as they remain cut off from contact with family members living in devastated areas.

"It's a very difficult time," Norma Carpio, president of the Toronto-based Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC), told CBC News.

Carpio's family is from a hard-hit region in the northern part of the country, in Ilio-Ilio, a town in Pangasinan province.

She's having trouble connecting with family because communication is nearly impossible, with electrical lines a long way off from being repaired in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Yolanda.

"Almost all the houses in that area were destroyed. Fortunately our house was not destroyed, and the church. And there are two other houses.

"Most of the survivors are staying at those few remaining houses and the church, and they're suffering. They urgently need water, clothing, food and, you know, anything that can help them," Carpio said, "I'm urging everybody to help by contributing before Dec. 8."

The Canadian government will match dollar-for-dollar eligible donations by individuals until Dec. 9.

Registered charities declaring eligible donations must complete a declaration form, which must then be received by the government on or before Dec. 23.

No matter what happens with the level of donations, the Canadian government is committed to providing $20 million in aid. A government spokeswoman on Tuesday said the total donation amount for Canada is almost $40 million because of dollar matching, with Canadian individual and businesses kicking in $19.7 million.

That total would make Canada the first largest donor, after the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

Some of Toronto's fundraising events:

• One of the city's biggest fundraisers will be #ProjectLIFTph, on Dec. 4 at the Great Hall on Queen Street West, with performances by Casey Mecija and Jenny Mecija (formerly of Ohbijou) and others.
• Another event, organized in part by the Philippine Independence Day Council, is scheduled Dec. 13 at the Star Walk Buffet in Scarborough.
• The Drake Hotel will host Sari Sari for Yolanda on Nov. 23. Donated items will be sold during the event, named for the popular sari-sari stores in the Philippines, with proceeds going to the Canadian Red Cross.

Carpio said any and all help is needed, because "this is not an easy time" for the community.

"When it's your immediate family the feeling is different, but also, all of our loved ones, our friends and relatives that are affected. We just pray that everything will be given attention."

"First we had the earthquake (in the central Philippines) and after the earthquake, Typhoon Yolanda. I still don't understand why it's happening."

Mike Aprieto, vice-president of PIDC, a co-ordinating group for people in the community responding to the disaster back home, said he lived in the Philippines as a child but has never seen anything like this storm, which had sustained winds of 250 km/h, enough to cause storm surges with tsunami-like waves in some areas.

"I have lived through typhoons and this is the worst one yet that I've heard of," he said.

The towns that were most severely affected are located in the provinces of Leyte and Eastern Samar, as well as a few places in the Southern Tagalog Region, particularly Coron in Palawan. 

"We live in Canada where the standard of living is very good, we're very comfortable," Aprieto said.

He said his group has members whose families are affected directly.

"We're a volunteer group and when one of us is affected, we're sad to hear the news and we try to do as much as we can to push people to help."

He said the community is using social media to come together to help friends and family who have lost everything.

Here are numbers for people from the Philippines currently living in the Greater Toronto Area, based on ethnic origin:

• Durham - 13,450
• York - 26,770
• Peel - 62,360
• Halton - 9,120
• Toronto - 140,420
• GTA - 252,120

Consul general moved by grieving families

Juvever Mahilum-West, consul general of the Philippines in Toronto since June of last year, said her fellow Filipinos in the city have come together as never before.

In an interview with CBC's Mary Wiens for Metro Morning, Mahilum-West recalled attending the prayer service at a Seventh Day Adventist church when she suddenly found herself becoming teary-eyed. She was sitting with six people on the front stage, including the ambassador. It was a prayer service where people expressed their grief and she realized everyone sitting on the stage around her was also sniffling.

She said it was a very important event because it was not just about raising money, but about expressing feelings.

The consul general's website has posted details about the federal immigration minister's promise to "prioritize" the processing of applications from people who say they've been "significantly affected by the typhoon."

No estimates are available of how many people this might affect, but Mahilum-West has helped with one such case in Toronto —- a Filipino man working at Toronto Police Services.

His co-workers noticed that he seemed dazed at work and found out he had a daughter who was in the Philippines. They advised him to go to the consulate. The consul general said they reviewed his daughter's file and she hopes the application will be successful.