‘Number of missing rising’: Filipino helpers in Hong Kong rally for aid after quake
Community groups are seeking to raise HK$20,000 to supply victims in Philippines with food, water and medicine
Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong have launched a month-long fundraising campaign to support families affected by a recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the southern Philippines, with organisers saying food, drinking water and medicine are urgently needed.
Representatives from the Abra Tingguian Ilocano Society were collecting donations at various locations on Sunday, including outside City Hall in Central, aiming to raise at least HK$20,000 (US$2,550) for affected communities, particularly in Mindanao and other hard-hit areas.
“Our target now is food, water and medicine,” group president Ludy Guinaban said. “Many families have lost their homes and are asking for help.”
Dolores Balladres, a spokeswoman for the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday that at least three of their members’ families were affected by the quake, with one left traumatised.
Balladres said that while the families were generally safe, their community was devastated.
“It’s so bad that the [number of] missing and affected is rising,” she said.