Dear Friends,

Thank you for your concern for the Filipino people at this time of crisis presented by Typhoon Yolanda, possibly the worst disaster the people has faced in a long time.

Until now, information regarding the typhoon has been spotty because communication was down in affected areas.  Now we are getting a better understanding about the extent of damage.  Soon a Philippine Province memo will be released.  Fr Provincial Tony Moreno says:  “For this year, three major calamities have hit us: Zamboanga standoff, earthquake in Bohol and Cebu, and now typhoon Yolanda (international code name: Haiyan). We have not fully recovered from the first two, and now we have perhaps the worst national disaster that hit the country.”  Fr Moreno refers us to other links for information: www.inquirer.net
and www.philstar.com.

The Province has an agency Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB) which is normally its main coordinating network for response to disasters and in preparation for them.  SLB’s website www.slb.ph will soon launch TASK FORCE BANGON PILIPINAS (rise philippines) in response to this disaster.

Information about this response and links to Bangon Pilipinas will be posted on the JCAP website jcapsj.org and on the JCAP Facebook site.

You may receive more updates from us or directly from Fr Tony Moreno or his office.  Your contributions may be sent through the Philippine Province (go to https://www.phjesuits.org/portal/), through Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, see details at www.slb.ph, or through the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific.

With prayers for the many people affected by this event and thanks to you for your concern,

Mark Raper SJ
President JCAP