North Vancouver's Filipino community has rallied to raise $62,000 for Canadian relief efforts to provide humanitarian aid in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.
The tight-knit community - which numbers about 8,000 on the North Shore - came together after the typhoon and subsequent storm surge swept through the island nation on Nov. 8, killing approximately 6,000 and leaving more than four million people homeless.
Soon after, local Filipino leaders organized a telethon and other fundraising efforts.
A cheque for the money raised was presented to Canadian Red Cross officials Dec. 13 at the new North Vancouver Filipino Community Centre, during a visit by the Philippines' ambassador to Canada.
Most of the amount raised will be matched by the federal government, increasing the value of the North Shore donation to more than $100,000.
Ottawa matched donations from individual Canadians who gave to typhoon relief funds of registered charities up to Dec. 23.
Alvin Koh Relleve, president of the North Vancouver Filipino Community Centre, said the community has also rallied to offer emotional support in the wake of the disaster.
He said he heard of one Filipino man, in North Vancouver on a temporary work visa, who lost seven family members in the typhoon.
Others had to wait up to three weeks to find out that their family members in the hard-hit Tacloban area had been transported to Manila and were safe.
Relleve said one month after the disaster, the focus in the Philippines is still on providing basics like food and shelter for displaced citizens. "Millions of people are still displaced," he said.
"It'll be a long rebuilding process. It'll take years and years."
Since the disaster, the Canadian Red Cross has raised $24 million for disaster relief. It is working with the Philippine Red Cross to distribute food, water and medical supplies.
The Canadian Red Cross has also set up a field hospital in Ormoc, a city of 190,000 where most buildings were destroyed or damaged.
