Continuous rains caused severe flooding in most of the Philippines’ capital Manila and other nearby provinces. Many Filipinos were seriously affected, most importantly children. President Aquino declared schools closed and work to cease in public and private sectors in and beyond Manila.
After the rains subsided, the children, mothers and staff of SOS Children’s Villages in Manila decided to help the affected families in the community of Muntinlupa as an expression of gratitude that the SOS Children’s Village Manila itself had been spared.
On Saturday 11 August, co-workers, mothers, children and young people went to a primary school temporarily converted into an evacuation center for 430 families (almost 2,000 people in total) from the affected neighbouring community, at walking distance from the SOS Children’s Village. More than 300 children, aged 6 to 12 years old, were given a packed lunch meal and a grocery bag with used clothing, basic toiletries, noodles, ready-to-drink milk, drinking water and powdered milk.
The SOS families and co-workers brought smiles to their weary neighbours and, most of all, an assured meal to their hungry stomachs. Today, more than 5,000 affected individuals are still in the evacuation centers waiting for the flood to subside in their areas. The government and civic groups are continuously working to help these people, not just to relieve their immediate needs but also to rehabilitate them for the long term.