By Kriztja Marae G. Labrador
Three weeks after they sent their first batch of donations, Silliman University delivered last Dec. 2 15 tons of goods to Leyte for typhoon Yolanda victims.
The latest delivery recorded an increase from the 13 tons of goods first collected by SU which were sent last Nov. 16.
Led by Pastor Jermias Lagahit, the university team who delivered the goods arrived in Leyte on Dec. 1 and endorsed them to the United Church of Christ in the Philippines churches in the area on Dec. 2.
Vice-president for Development Jane Annette Belarmino said that along with the relief items, SU also donated a water purifier system and a generator set which were given to Bethany Hospital in Tacloban.
She added that SU volunteers installed the water purifying system and trained residents how to use it.
As of press time, Belarmino is waiting for a formal report to be submitted to the university by team leader Pastor Lagahit regarding details of the donation distribution.
Meanwhile, SU students from Leyte are thankful for the additional aid given to their hometown.
First year electrical engineering student Jesser Pinote said the help received by their kababayans made him feel “relieved.” “On behalf of students from Leyte and Samar, I would like to personally thank all who helped and donated,” he said.
Pinote added that witnessing all the help coming from a lot of people gave him a “new perspective of the tragedy” and “hope for a new beginning.” “It made me realize that not far from now, our nation will once again rise up from the tragedy and be better than it was before,” he said.
Megan Alexandra Cariaso, senior psychology student from Leyte, said she is “whole-heartedly grateful” for having Silliman as her “second family” to rely on.
“For me, it wasn’t a question of how much people gave, but it’s the concern that mattered to me. I feel it sincerely,” she said.
Cariaso also added that the kindness extended by the university to her fellow waray-waray “surely touched the hearts of thousands.”
