VIDEO: Littlehampton unites in wake of Typhoon Haiyan tragedy

‘HEARTWARMING’ – the word a Filipino mother living in Wick used to describe the response from residents and businesses across the Gazette area to the Philippine typhoon tragedy.
Pictures are Mark White, left, with son Martin, six, wife Derralyn, and daughters Justine, 14, and Shaina, ninePictures are Mark White, left, with son Martin, six, wife Derralyn, and daughters Justine, 14, and Shaina, nine
Pictures are Mark White, left, with son Martin, six, wife Derralyn, and daughters Justine, 14, and Shaina, nine

There has been an outpouring of compassion and generosity from countless people in Littlehampton – from schoolchildren donating their clothes to businesses pledging hundreds of pounds.

And this seems to be only the tip of the iceberg as momentum is rapidly building for more people to join the relief effort, locally.

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Derralyn White, 38, of Potters Mead, launched a desperate appeal following the wide-spread devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan, which hit on Friday (November 8), killing thousands and flattening countless homes, leaving an estimated 580,000 people homeless.

Pictures are Mark White, left, with son Martin, six, wife Derralyn, and daughters Justine, 14, and Shaina, ninePictures are Mark White, left, with son Martin, six, wife Derralyn, and daughters Justine, 14, and Shaina, nine
Pictures are Mark White, left, with son Martin, six, wife Derralyn, and daughters Justine, 14, and Shaina, nine

The mother-of-three, who moved to the UK with her husband Mark, ten years ago, said: “My people are desperate for help. They are living with nothing.

“Their homes are flattened, people are dying. They have lost everything.

“When I was a girl I lived through a typhoon. I know how desperate people feel.”

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Mrs White appealed to her daughters’ schools, The Littlehampton Academy and White Meadows Primary School, to become make-shift depots to receive donations.

So far, dozens have answered her plea, offering bags of clothes, taking the academy’s chaplain, Paul Sanderson, by surprise.

“There is a really strong Filipino community in the school,” he said. “Some of our students come from the southern island and their families were directly affected. Mrs White left a desperate message on the phone for help. It was very moving.”

Donations can be made at the academy’s chapel which will be delivered to the Filipino Embassy, in London, tomorrow afternoon (Friday, November 15), as well as the Palatine School, in Goring, and the Littlehampton Book Services, in Durrington.

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The Littlehampton Rotary Club has disaster donation boxes available at its store, in The Street, Rustington.

Ten staff at The Littlehampton Marina are being sponsored by their managing director David Finnamore to go a week without their phones, potentially raising £500.