The terrible aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines has left a death toll of 4000, which is still climbing and 1.9 million people have been left homeless and 11 million people needing aid. But people in Llanelli are keen to do what they can to help.
Last week Lucy Lugtu of the local Filipino community spoke to Meryl Richards about sending help to the Philippines. Meryl contacted two other mums from Pentip School, Rhian Daly and Rebecca Evans, and together they decided that they could not stand by and let the people of the Philippines suffer, so they organised a collection on Saturday for food, water, medical supplies and clothes to help in the aid relief. Contacting people via their open Facebook group Philippines Disaster Relief Collection, they advertised the collection at Trallwm Hall.
As the donations began to pour in, they were overwhelmed with the generosity of the Llanelli people.
Nia Griffith MP who came along to help, said
“ As ever the people of Llanelli, have given so much to help support those in need in the Philippines. It just shows how the communities of Llanelli can pull together in a time of crisis. The organisers had arranged immediate pick-u p for twenty boxes, but found that people had flocked to bring enough items to fill a staggering 120 boxes… and the hall needed to be clear for use on Sunday morning. So many thanks to Huw and Ian Owens from Owens Transport for answering the plea for help on a Saturday afternoon and providing transport and storage for the remaining 100 boxes full of food, water, medical supplies and clothes, that people had brought in during just one day arranged at short notice. These will now be sent out to the Philippines.”
Further collections will be arranged on 29th and 30th November, details to be confirmed nearer the time.