Vital funds raised by Littlehampton group for Phillipines disaster

The Littlehampton Rotary Club has already raised thousands of pounds for the typhoon relief work in the Compstela Valley Province of the Philippines.

Typhoon Haiyan struck in early November and was the deadliest Phillipine typhoon on record, killing at least 6,069 people in the country alone.

It also left massive infrastructural damage and huge numbers of people without food or water.

Funds raised in the Rotary Club’s charity shop in Rustington have gone to the Rotary Club of Tagum North, which has been working to help rebuild the area after Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the country.

Bill Paine, vice-president of the Littlehampton Rotary Club, said: “The local rotarians have been praised by the district governor of the area for all their hard work in ensuring that local people have benfited directly from the funds raised here in Sussex. The governor has requested them to help the Compesta Valley School to try and ensure that the school children return to full time education in January. So as a result we agreed for some of our funds to be used to reroof the school.”

In total Littlehampton Rotarians have sent £3,000 to the Phillipines.

The money has been sent by telegraphic transfer to a Rotary bank account set up in the Phillipines following the typhoon, and this account will be audited to ensure every penny is spent on disaster relief.

It has been used to buy food, medicines and building materials for the damaged houses and school.

Mr Paine said the money also has the added benefit of helping the area’s economy by being spent locally.

A banner has been raised on the school thanking the Littlehampton Rotary Club for all its help.

Mr Paine added: “The president and members of Littlehampton Rotary Club would like to thank the local Rustington shops who kindly allowed our collecting boxes to be displayed, and the residents for their cash donations.

“Without this support we could not achieve as much as we do.”

Governor Edgardo Chiongbian has written to formally thank the Littlehampton Rotary Club for its help in restoring the school.

Mr Chiongbian said: “To get the children back to learning in decent classrooms is vital for their future and our country.”

The Littlehampton Rotary Club is not the only group from the area to donate to the Phillipines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.

A large number of people donated bags of clothes to the Littlehampton Academy, in Fitzalan Road, and White Meadows Primary School, in Whitelea Road, Wick, which were turned into make-shift depots.

The goods were sent out in November after they were dispatched to the Phillipine Embassy in London first.

Mr Paine wanted to wish those from the area a happy Christmas and asked people to continue donating to tongoing work to rebuild the Phillipines via the rotary club’s disaster collection boxes, or by shopping in the Rustington charity shop.