MANILA, Philippines - In Tacloban City, Leyte, the cries of children separated from their parents and families can be heard amid the rubble. With their homes all gone and no relatives to look after their welfare, one can almost feel their silent whimpers of helplessness as if saying, S.O.S.!
This sad reality in the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda also hit home for SOS Children’s Villages, an independent, non-governmental international development organization, which provides quality alternative care for children who cannot live with their biological families.
Unfortunately, for the kids and mentors of SOS Children’s Village Tacloban, some of the buildings that the children have called home for the past years have been badly damaged. Thank goodness, help arrived just in time.
“In terms of relief operations, the first 70 kids at SOS Village in Tacloban were transferred out of Tacloban and kept in a safe and secure facility in SOS Village Calbayog, a four-hour drive away,†SOS Children’s Villages Philippines national director Bienvenido Delgado recounted.
Among the private companies that went out of their way to help SOS Children’s Villages in Tacloban was Outback Steakhouse Restaurant, which pooled in P1 million.
According to Outback Steakhouse Southeast chairman Prasoon Mukherjee, the money they raised came from over 500 employees of Outback Steakhouse around Southeast Asia who each donated an equivalent of their day’s salary.
Prasoon recently flew in from Singapore and met with representatives from the SOS Children’s Villages led by Delgado who personally received the check donation during the ceremonial turnover at Outback Steakhouse in Makati.
“It was heartwarming to see all our employees in the region voluntarily gave their share,†said Prasoon who also shared his personal contribution. In addition, Outback has opened a bank account in case more employees and officers around the world decide to donate some cash.
Prasoon further encouraged employees of Outback Philippines to participate in relief operations. “They can do volunteer work in Tacloban and it will be a paid holiday. We will also shoulder their transportation, food allowance and accommodation,†he added.
Having experienced how it was like to grow up without a mother after losing her when he was only 11, Prasoon was deeply moved by images of orphaned children being shown in the news.
While damaged infrastructures and houses can easily be rehabilitated, a child’s sense of family and belongingness takes time to rebuild. This is why the role of SOS Children’s Villages is very crucial especially to those children who have been displaced by the disaster.
“The biggest losses are those that one cannot regain; just like when a child loses a mother,†Prasoon said. “Nobody can replace a mother’s presence in the life of a child. So if you lost a mother, it felt like you’ve almost lost the world,†he added.
“If it were not for the presence of SOS mothers in our villages, we would have had some casualties. The sentiments of Outback represented by Prasoon were the same as those of the SOS family and all families put in this situation — mothers are the core of our existence,†Delgado said.
“In any calamity, the country always bounces back stronger,†Prasoon mused. And with companies like Outback Steakhouse who help rebuild lives together with the help of SOS mothers who raise each child as if he/she were her own, there is a bright future awaiting all children at the SOS Chilren’s Villages in the Philippines.