It has been just one week since Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, and for some UNC students, the destruction has hit home.
Many have personal ties to the islands where family members live, and they are doing everything they can to help with the humanitarian crisis.
Fatima Domagtoy, co-president of Kasama, a Filipino-American organization at UNC that plans to help victims in the Philippines, has aunts, uncles and cousins living in the affected areas.
“I have an aunt in that area, and she hasn’t had any communication with her siblings,” Domagtoy said.
With their resources and cultural knowledge, Kasama has partnered with the nonprofit organization Threads of Hope to sell handmade bracelets from the Philippines to raise money. Members will sell the bracelets in the Pit beginning next week.
The organization also plans to host a banquet in early January to raise money. Domagtoy said the UNC chapter of alpha Kappa Delta Phi International Sorority, Inc. is helping organize the event.
Other concerned students include Keenan Harrell, vice president of the UNC chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., who has a roommate that has not been able to reach his Filipino family members.
“It’s sort of scary for them because you don’t want to think something negative,” Harrell said. “I guess all you can do is pray for them and hope for the best.”
He said the fraternity will collect nonperishable goods on Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Pit.
