Two months after watching their adopted hometown suffer from historic floods, members of Calgary’s Filipino community are glued to their televisions, phones and computers as the Philippines battles torrential rains and flooding.
Sixty per cent of Manila, the country’s capital, is underwater.
Over the past week, a constant stream of immigrants from the Philippines have been entering the iRemit store, in northeast Calgary, to send money home to relatives in crisis.
Joel Quiminales left his wife and family in Manila when he moved to Canada for work.
Quiminales is worried because the area his family resides in remains under several feet of water. The family’s home is destroyed and has left his family displaced.
“I need to supply what they need,” says Quiminales. “For example, the rice, the food, the clothes and support for my kids.”
“I talked to them last night, and they had bought some food for dinner.”
Quiminales adds that the price of food in the Philippines has skyrocketed since flooding began and transportation has halted.
Calgary’s Filipino community has organized a ‘Run for Unity’ for the Pasig River and the Philippine environment.
The event is scheduled for Saturday, August 31 at the Rotary Challenger Park in northeast Calgary.
For more information on the fundraising event, contact Paolo Oliveros at 403-829-5497.
With files from CTV's Kevin Green
