Super Typhoon Odette was the 15th to hit the country this year. Last December 16, 2021, it wreaked havoc on numerous parts of the Visayas and Mindanao with the force of a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic. Pre-landfall, it had sustained winds of 260 km/h with gusts of exceeding 300 km/h on Siargao Island. Residents experienced dispersed widespread flooding and rain-induced landslides as a result of these Conditions.
As each day goes by, 1.2 families affected by Odette seek humanitarian assistance as the situation continues to bleak. Everything has been taken by this climate crisis – others grieved on the loss of their loved ones, livelihood, property, or even inaccessibility to food and water security.
With water supply systems damaged or flooded, access to clean water becomes an immediate need. The Rotaract Club of Cebu Fuente – University of San Carlos launched MODAGAYDAY: A Water Donation Drive for the Victims of Super Typhoon Odette. ‘Modagayday’ is a Cebuano translation of ‘flow’. Hence, we aim to deploy potable or distilled water to select communities in 8 regions including Cebu, Palawan, Bohol, Negros Occidental, Southern Leyte, Siargao, Surigao, and Dinagat Island. The team managed to contact 10 financial and logistics partners who worked round the clock to mobilize for various deployments.
The need has been unprecedented and in a span of three weeks, we have been able to gather Php 53,393.51 monetary donations and deployed a total of 10,895.5 liters of potable water to provide more than 500 families across 8 provinces access to a day’s worth of drinking water. This is the only first batch of our immediate response. Together with our partners in service, we will continue our efforts to deploy potable water to affected areas and underserved communities until our resources are exhausted. MODAGAYDAY is just one of the many donation drives out there, whether led by a Rotaract Club, private organization or non-government organizations. We have witnessed the spirit of bayanihan as we are rising above the adversities, becoming catalysts of change, and providing solutions to make long lasting change. None of us expected that we would be dealing with such a crisis, but we can only do so much.
To become part of the solution, take action, donate when you can, and share posts to increase awareness.
