.الذين اذا اصابتهم مصيبة قالوا انا لله وانا اليه راجعون

Who say, when afflicted with calamity: “To God We belong, and to Him is our return”
-Quran, 2:156

As many of you are well aware, over the past weekend, the Philippines was struck with what is being deemed the strongest storms to hit land in human history. Many in central Philippines have been evacuated, displaced or deceased. There is no official count yet as to how many causalities but at least several tens of thousands are in dire need of basic supplies to rise from this natural disaster.

Our loved ones in the Philippines need to be in our thoughts and prayers. Their rise from this disaster will not be easy and every bit of support counts! If you’d like to donate and volunteer towards the support and rebuilding efforts, you can do so no matter where you are in the world!

For those of us in Qatar, the Embassy of the Philippines* is collecting donations to be shipped out via Qatar Airways as overseen by the Emir. Donations need to be brought to the embassy no later than this Friday, November 15th and by next Friday, November 22nd. Currently what is of priority are canned foods, canned baby foods, dried foods (crackers, fruits, nuts, etc), over the counter medicines, first aid kits and toiletries (sanitizers and female products). I’ll be making a Carrefour/Almeera run for some of the listed items early Friday morning (Nov 15th). If you are interested in participating or contributing toward these purchases, kindly contact me via Twitter or Facebook as soon as possible.

In cooperation with the Philippine Red Cross, Qatar Red Crescent has a goal of collecting $2 million dollars to support over 5,000 families in need. This is to go towards health care and providing temporary shelter amongst the basics as listed above.

For those of you in the United States, you can contribute money and time to the Islamic Relief organization. This 4 star non-profit charity organization is very well known for their tireless efforts in providing hands on support within the US and across the globe. You can donate money either through your local city/state chapter or directly on their website.

As previously shared on my Facebook page through a trusted friend living in the Philippines, you can make contributions to the grassroots organization NAFCON. NAFCON, headquartered in San Francisco, has several branches across California and the US dedicated to disaster relief:

Northern California Chapter: nc@nafconusa.org / 626.534.4971

Southern California Chapter: sc@nafconusa.org / 253.381.7444

Northwest Chapter: nw@nafconusa.org; (206) 659–1896 Midwest Chapter: mw@nafconusa.org; (224) 381–6888

East Coast Chapter: ne@nafconusa.org; (650) 808–5043

The Filipino Community Center in the San Francisco Mission District is also collecting donations and supplies to be sent to the Philippines. To donate, volunteer and contribute to the efforts, kindly call +1415.333.6267 or email: info@filipinocc.org.

This post will be updated regularly, kindly share any legitimate resources you may have to support our brothers and sisters in the Philippines.

*I understand the many concerns people have in dealing with the Filipino government. However, this is being overseen by several trustworthy organizations here in Qatar and the embassy here is highly regarded amongst the Filipino community in Qatar.