CKSC Cares for Typhoon Yolanda Victims!

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If you want happiness for an hour - take a nap.

If you want happiness for a day - go fishing.

If you want happiness for a month - get married.

If you want happiness for a year - inherit a fortune.

If you want happiness for a lifetime - help others.

Having seen the havoc brought by monster typhoon Yolanda, the hopelessness that ensued due to lack of organized relief operations and the utter despair of the residents in Central Visayas, particularly Leyte and Eastern Visayas, Chiang Kai Shek College did not lose time to reach out quickly.  A college-wide campaign to accept donations of any kind except cash was immediately made.  The reaction of parents, teachers, and students was a huge outpouring of support.  On November 15, the deadline for dropping of relief goods, the lobbies occupying the ground floors of the Main and Narra campuses were filled with noodles, canned goods, clothes, sacks of rice, boxes of distilled water, etc.  The next day, five organizations, namely: the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Filipino-Chinese Business Club, Gawad Kalinga, Philippine Red Cross, and Operation: Guiuan (Samar), came to pick up the truck loads for immediate distribution.

In cognizance of their plight, our school, as a gesture of humanitarian spirit and outpouring of love and compassion, posted in the official website and the Facebook our acceptance of students enrolled in Chinese-Filipino schools in affected areas of Tacloban, Samar, Bohol, and Palawan with completely free school fees. They can immediately continue their studies in our school at the soonest possible time so that they can move on with their lives quickly. We also announced the availability of free school and P.E. uniforms and dormitories for these students, now that their homes are completely washed away by the storm surges, looted, or pulverized by the destructive earthquake.

The reaction has been positive and uplifting.  On November 18, twenty four (24) students from Leyte Progressive School, Sacred Heart School, and two colleges in Tacloban City, plus a school in Ormoc City enrolled.  Some have places to stay in Manila while several will stay in the school dormitory.  As of last count, there are now 39 students from kindergarten to college levels.   We expect to have some more coming in as soon as they can find a way to reach Manila.

As part of their sworn duty to serve their fellowmen, hundreds of CKSC boy and girl scouts also joined relief good packing operations on many days after the typhoon. They joined Operation: Damayan sponsored by the Junior Chamber International, Operation: Walang Iwanan organized by Gawad Kalinga, and similar operations held at the Federation  of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Incorporated and De La Salle University, Manila.

In these very crucial and numbing times, we at CKSC are reaching out our utmost assistance because we care.

Contributor: Melchor Te