Ecumenical Patriarchate

Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia

Press Release

Typhoon Haiyan swept through the Philippines on Friday 8 November, creating a tragic situation, similar to that of December 2004 after the lethal Tsunami in Indonesia and Thailand. Whole villages and towns near the sea have been completely flattened. Waves of up to 6 metres in height rushed up to 1km onto land. Winds of up to 215 km/hour destroyed everything in their path. In one province alone in the central Philippines there were 10,000 casualties. Many still lie buried in the mud. No one yet knows what the final death toll will be. The number of people made homeless currently stands at 600,000.

Communication with the Orthodox Christian communities in these areas is still difficult. We still do not know whether members of our Orthodox communities have died. There are certainly Orthodox who have lost everything: their houses, their farms, their crops, their livelihoods.

The residents of the affected areas are, in the majority, poor farmers.

The Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia is working with all the means at its disposal to send humanitarian aid relief. It is doing its utmost to give a witness of love but also a bright ray of hope and life. It has already sent a small amount for the purchase and distribution of potable water and food staples.

How you can help:

by cheque:

ORTHODOX METROPOLITANATE OF HONG KONG AND SOUTHEAST ASIA

704 Universal Trade Center, 3 Arbuthnot Road, Central, Hong Kong.

by transfer:

HSBC

(No 10 Harcourt Rd., Hong Kong)

S/A: 102-299344-838

Swift code: HSBCHKHHHKH