2014 APCO Freedom Day Luncheon and Ball

Truckloads of relief to the far-flung victims and distribution of basic building materials, seedlings and fishing gears
Cooking demo and nutritious feeding using local ingredients (left) and students getting their bags of supplies
organising concerts, appealing in various types
of gathering, holding charity bazaars, collecting
food stuffs and second-hands goods meetings,
doing busking in the thoroughfares and passing
the buckets in train and bus stations. While we
were able to collect many things, we also gained
much in terms of the outpouring of goodwill and
expression of sympathies and the opportunity to
talk directly with people. We experienced directly
the generousity of ordinary Australian both longtime
citizen and newly arrived ones!
From these fund campaigns APCO members
were able to immediately send 172 big balikbayan
boxes of assorted relief goods direct to the
devastated areas at a discounted rate through
Austral Cargo and distributed money remittances
to many victims through their relatives in Sydney,
Australia.
Services delivered
The following are the services delivered by our
team:
• rebuilding assistance (provision
of building materials to repair badly
damaged houses)
• livelihood programs (gardening and
fishing nets distribution)
• provision of funds to run a nutrition
and feeding program for malnourished
children and provision of training to
their parents in food preparation using
available local products
• feeding programs and distribution of
school supplies to schools and day care
centre
• distribution of assorted relief goods to
far-flung villages not yet serviced by the
government and NGOs
• provision of 2nd hand spectacles to
replace lost eyeglasses during the storm
Overall, the two-week marathon relief mission
was physically taxing and emotionally heart
wrenching but the experience was truly rewarding
and fulfilling. It was a privilege to be a part of
the Overseas Relief Mission of APCO. Engaging
the victims in person, actively listening to them,
showing empathy and genuine interest in their
welfare backed up by delivery of much needed
goods and services is most fulfilling . I will forever
treasure this experience for the rest of my life.