“My organization spearheaded the Youlenda Hand, in which we collected from students things urgently needed by the victims of the typhoon, like bottled water, medicines for fever and malaria, clothes, toiletries.
“We also partnered with The Butterfly Project, a youth-led initiative headed by Raine Mateo Calucag of UPD, that aims to provide women and children survivors of Supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’ with personal sanitary care products like diapers and feminine pads.
“As of now, there’s an overflow of donations from the students of our college, which is entirely unexpected, since there is this culture of apathy that lurks in our college.”—Jay Michael Mugas, Mariano Marcos State University, Ilocos Norte
“I planned to have a new look this semester, so I decided to get a hair treatment. I was about to enter the salon when I heard the news about the aftermath of Yolanda. I stepped out and went home. I canceled my reservation and started to count my money. It was not that big, but my instinct was to help. I donated all the money I have to the victims of the typhoon. My hair is still messy, but I’m very happy.”—Abigail Louise Vibar, University of the East
“Our school has been doing relief operations since the earthquake in Bohol, and we never stopped, even after Yolanda. As one of the student staff, I pledged part of my salary for the victims of the typhoon and also encouraged students to volunteer for the packing of goods. We also helped in the cooking of packed food so the victims don’t have to cook.”—Mariz Canarejo, University of Cebu-Banilad campus
“We in our class and class org collected money. Then with my classmates and professor, Ms Awayan, we went to the grocery and bought urgent needs such as bottles of water, sardines, biscuits. To our surprise, we were able to donate a lot from a small amount when we put our money together.”—Karla Jeanne Co, De La Salle University Dasmariñas
“I volunteered with my friends in the repacking station of the DSWD in Bacolod every day, since we don’t have any morning class.”—Nikko Nacion, University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos
“I donated half of my allowance to our university student council’s relief efforts with Gawad Kalinga-UPLB. My org, UP Alliance of Students Unified for Sociology, with two other orgs in the university, have been collecting relief goods. Some teachers helped us by requiring the students to bring relief goods to class. All the collected goods will be donated to Coron, Palawan, and Lawaan, Eastern Samar.”—Joie Catleya, University of the Philippines Los Baños
“At first, we planned a fund-raising concert to commemorate Bonifacio’s 150th birthday, and the proceeds would help his descendants living in Tondo. But because of recent events, we decided that half of the concert proceeds would be donated to typhoon victims. My section and I volunteered in the repacking station of the Department of Agrarian Reform.”—Irish Murillo Dizon, Philippine Normal University-Manila