KU students are joining forces to help the Philippines two weeks after Typhoon Haiyan hit the country, leaving more than one million people without a home.
The typhoon, one of the most powerful storms recorded on land, destroyed towns and lives, with one million displaced and thousands of people dead.
Kingston lecturer Dr Norman Cheung said in an interview with Channel 4 News: “This is the highest wind speed ever seen when a storm makes landfall. When it is over the open ocean that is another story.
"This storm is so severe, and they are in a low-lying area. The impact will be huge and the damage could be huge.”
Dr Cheung, a senior lecturer in geology and environment, is an expert in tropical storms and disaster management.
Taking Action
Ashereen Kanesan, an international relations student at KU, decided to take immediate action to help the Philippines because of her experience of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka.
“Seeing how the disaster destroyed so many lives and knowing that they didn’t get the help they needed was really heartbreaking,” Kanesan said.
She is organising a “Help the Philippines” campaign to send food and clothes to the country. Students are asked to bring dry food, such as energy bars, biscuits and tin cans, as well as clothes.
The Emergency Planning Society and the Oriental Society also organised a bake sale to raise money which will be sent off to the ones in need.
Gratitude
Sofie Allen, president of the Emergency Planning Society, said it felt good to be able to help in such a horrific natural disaster.
“The Filipino community seems very appreciative of what we are doing which makes us feel great as society,” Allen said.
Angela Gomez, a first-year Filipino student, is grateful for all the help and support from her friends at Kingston.
“We are a very international community at University and if this happens to any other country I like to think that we will support them just as much, no matter how big or small the issue is,” Gomez said.
The events are taking place at Penrhyn Road from 11am-4pm between November 20 and 29.