Dear Cosmoholics,
Baru-baru ni negara jiran Filipina dilanda Typhoon Yolanda yang membawa bencana teruk. Cosmo Malaysia menerima surat khas daripada Editor Cosmo Filipina memohon bantuan dari semua Cosmoholics serata dunia.
Baca surat dari Myrza, Editor Cosmopolitan Philippines dan bantulah mereka yang memerlukan pertolongan. Cosmo team Malaysia berharap kamu dapat membantu sahabat kami di Filipina.
Terima kasih. Salam sayang, Eena.
Dear Cosmo editor,
It is during times like these that we truly appreciate being part of our global Cosmo sisterhood, because we know we can call upon all of you to show your concern and lend a helping hand. Please take a moment to read about the calamity that has left many parts of our country in shambles—and so many of its people utterly devastated.
It only took five hours for Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) to completely devastate Leyte, a province of nearly two million.
Tacloban City, the capital city, sustained the most damage; it is a coastal town bordered on both sides by bodies of water—95% of the city has been flattened, and 220,000 people have been displaced. Official reports say the death toll is at 4,000, although unofficial reports from NGOs peg it at much higher, around 10,000. The government has not been able to reach the most interior parts of the province, so the death count, as well as reports of the missing and injured, is inaccurate and in a tragedy of this magnitude, rendered irrelevant.
The city is in absolute ruins—there is no electricity, water, and food. There are no functioning hospitals for the hundreds of thousands who are injured. Seven days after the tragedy, the government has only been able to give food to 29 towns, when there are more than 40 towns in this province of 2 million hectares.
The government estimates that they need 1.1 million food packs a day to feed the survivors of Yolanda in Leyte—and yet, as of last update, they’ve only given away 150,000. Aid is streaming in, but not nearly as fast, or as efficiently enough, for the millions of people who have nowhere to go and have nothing to eat.
And this is just one city. Over 11 million people in Leyte, Samar, Palawan, Aklan, Mindoro, and Cebu have been affected by the typhoon.
We need your help. We need your donations (and those of your millions of readers)—in cash or in kind—so we can feed them, give them shelter, and provide medical supplies. We need generators and water pumps. We need expensive medical equipment to replace those that have been washed away. We need milk for the babies, antibiotics for the injured, and IVs for the badly dehydrated.
On top of all the immediate basic needs, we have to turn an eye towards long-term sustainability. Our focus now is to help the people help themselves: Not just to give relief, but to help rehabilitate. The typhoon has completely destroyed all sources of livelihood, from big businesses to tiny fishing villages, and people have no way to make a living.
Your donations will also go to the purchase of materials to help them rebuild homes, buy agricultural stock, livestock, and livelihood projects to help usher them towards self-sufficiency. Please help us: Your donations can go a long way: US$10 is enough to feed one family for a day, US$100 will buy two people a course of antibiotics for one week, US$1000 will buy construction materials (like a chainsaw) they can use to clear the roads and build their homes. In this time of great need, no amount of help is too small. I urge you to kindly reach out to your readers and disseminate the information provided here in whatever way you can:
http://www.cosmo.ph/celebs/buzz-list/do-your-part-help-victims-of-typhoon-yolanda/
Thank you for your help! Every little act of kindness will go a very long way across the world to save countless lives.
Sincerely,
Myrza and the Cosmo Philippines team
Cosmopolitan Malaysia 