Much of the Philippines is still in ruins from the massive typhoon that devastated the country this past November, and a couple L.V. Rogers students are organizing a fundraiser to support the relief effort.
Grade 11 student Keegan Schuh, whose family is Filipino, and his classmate Galen Boulanger, whose connected to several local bands, have teamed up to host a dinner and dance at the Nelson Rod and Gun Club next Friday.
“The Philippines was in a the news a lot when the typhoon happened, but all the attention has kind of faded out,” Schuh said. “There’s still a lot of devastation over there, and I just wanted to do something to help out.”
Typhoon Haiya hit the island county on November 8. It was the deadliest Philippine typhoon ever recorded, killing more than 6,000 people. Houses were flattened, farmlands destroyed, and public infrastructure like water and power systems left unusable.
Five of Schuh’s relatives perished in the storm.
“Everything needs to be rebuilt,” Schuh said. “It’s going to take a long time and a lot of money.”
The students have been in touch with a missionary couple from Nakusp — Ed and Ruth Wiebe — who have been involved with relief projects in the Philippines for more than a decade and are currently over there working in the small coastal village of Ocam Ocam.
Proceeds from their event will go towards the Wiebes’ micro-relief work, focused on building homes and restoring farmlands.
“We want as much as the money to be used helping people affected by the typhoon, not paying for flights and administrative staff at one of the big relief organizations,” Boulanger explained.
The event, set for February 28 from 6 to 9:30 p.m., will consist of a buffet dinner prepared by the local Filipino community and live music performed by Corazón youth choir, Clinton Swanson, Grant Sutherland, Aryn Sheriff and the LVR jazz combo Swing Theory. There will also be a silent auction and informational slide show about the current state of the Philippines.
Tickets are $25, available in advance at The Music Store, Otter Books and Dr. Peter Schuh’s dental office.
