A Filipino priest who co-ordinated the Philippines Disaster Appeal, which was run by almost 30 Filipinos and their Irish friends on Saturday 5 May, has thanked the public for supporting the fundraising.
Fr Dante Funelas, a former parish priest in the Diocese of Legaspi in the Albay province of the Philippines, who is presently studying in Ireland and also attached to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel on Bachelors Walk in Dublin, told Metro Eireann that the Filipino community decided to organise the fundraising following a direct appeal by the bishop of the diocese for help.
Almost 4,000 euro was raised at the six-and-a-half-hour event outside the GPO on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.
Fr Funelas said: “This needs to be verified as there were many coins collected. We are going to pay the money directly to the bank account of the social services centre of the Diocese of Legaspi.”
On 29 November last, Typhoon Durian badly hit the Diocese of Legaspi, killing hundreds of people. Fr Funelas explained that this was the first time the people of the area were struck by a massive disaster:
“The whole province was devastated,” he said. “The population lost almost everything, including their houses.”
All the money raised, Fr Funelas noted, will be used to help in the rebuilding of homes, chapels and seminaries in the province. “[The money] is a very good help but cannot do too much for the people,” he said.
However, he stated the effects it will have on the people will be massive. “It’ll rebuild hope and courage in the people. It means that the people will know that they have not been forgotten,” he added.
Asked how long the appeal would go on, Fr Funelas said it was a once-off event and does not think they will do such thing in the future.
“Personally, I don’t like it,” he said. “Many Filipinos were ashamed to fundraise, it’s not their way of life, but when they did it they found it very nice.
“People who donated money were not asked, they just came and gave money. The Filipinos who joined the street collection were deeply touched by the expression of support and solidarity of the Irish and other nationalities.”
A journalist who was passing by during the fundraising event observed that not all the Filipinos there were happy. She said while she was chatting with a Filipino woman, another woman came up “and was kind of angry, saying there is no end to the mouths to feed.”
Almost 4,000 euro was raised at the six-and-a-half-hour event outside the GPO on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.
Fr Funelas said: “This needs to be verified as there were many coins collected. We are going to pay the money directly to the bank account of the social services centre of the Diocese of Legaspi.”
On 29 November last, Typhoon Durian badly hit the Diocese of Legaspi, killing hundreds of people. Fr Funelas explained that this was the first time the people of the area were struck by a massive disaster:
“The whole province was devastated,” he said. “The population lost almost everything, including their houses.”
All the money raised, Fr Funelas noted, will be used to help in the rebuilding of homes, chapels and seminaries in the province. “[The money] is a very good help but cannot do too much for the people,” he said.
However, he stated the effects it will have on the people will be massive. “It’ll rebuild hope and courage in the people. It means that the people will know that they have not been forgotten,” he added.
Asked how long the appeal would go on, Fr Funelas said it was a once-off event and does not think they will do such thing in the future.
“Personally, I don’t like it,” he said. “Many Filipinos were ashamed to fundraise, it’s not their way of life, but when they did it they found it very nice.
“People who donated money were not asked, they just came and gave money. The Filipinos who joined the street collection were deeply touched by the expression of support and solidarity of the Irish and other nationalities.”
A journalist who was passing by during the fundraising event observed that not all the Filipinos there were happy. She said while she was chatting with a Filipino woman, another woman came up “and was kind of angry, saying there is no end to the mouths to feed.”
