On the 8th of November 2013, an immense typhoon struck a regional part of the Philippines. It has an international name Haiyan, but was called in the Philippines as Yolanda. It devastated the Visayas part especially Tacloban, Leyte.
Yolanda was considered as the strongest typhoon ever recorded that killed over 6000 individuals. The heavy rain flooded the cities and many infrastructures were broken down because of the rough winds brought by this uproar. The aftermath was really shocking. Cases of rape and looting were reported. People panicked because there were limited resources in the areas affected and relief cannot arrive in time since the main roads were ravaged.
However, not just our fellow Filipinos tried to give relief to the victims of typhoon Yolanda. The United Nations, Asian and Western countries gave their share—monetary and in kind—in helping those who are in need. In contrast, even though the calamity has brought misfortune to the country, it has proved that everybody can lend a helping hand and show unity. People of all ages, race and gender showed generosity and kindness.
A local Java outsourcing company, Ideyatech, has their own way of helping the Yolanda survivors. After Yolanda struck when the gravity of the typhoon has been made known, current and former employees gave pledges and gathered donations. At first, they plan to produce relief packs to be sent through trusted charity institutions. But then, they were not able to prepare relief good because supermarkets have run out of supplies.
CEO Allan Tan thought of other ways to help. He suggested two products from SolarSolutions Inc. — a solar-powered cellphone charging station, and a solar-powered water purifier. All agreed to buy the water purifier because it can give long-term help to the people.
Tan have made arrangements with a friend from SolarSolutions. They were able to coordinate with a community in Dulag, Leyte where the water purifier they bought would be installed. This is garnered to Our Lady of Refuge Parish church and would be handed over to Fr. Virgilio Cañete.
Thanks to the Ideyatechies, the water purifier was successfully installed on December 11, 2013. The community can still utilize the equipment even after the people have rebuilt their homes.