October 24, 2009
said, “Pictures are worth a thousand words”. Pictures capture a moment, person or an event in time. On September 28, 2009 Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) struck the Philippines, hitting the country with a month’s worth of rain in less than 12 hours. In less than 24 hours, pictures were up displaying Ondoy’s wrath. It was these pictures that struck a nerve within me, a feeling of obligation to help the country I bear my roots from. There were other fundraising efforts throughout the city in which I could have contributed my time and effort, but I felt that the youth and generation I know, should be able to help out in our own way. People said, “Well, --it happens everyday and there’s nothing we can do about it.” However, within just a few days and some e-mails, between my fellow ANAK members and I, we came up with “After the Rain: A Benefit Concert for the Victims of Typhoon Ondoy”, which was organized at the University of Winnipeg Bulman Student Centre on October 23, 2009 at 7pm. This is my thank you to those who made the night successful: those who bought tickets, donated door prizes and attended; the volunteers: ANAK Inc. members & UWFSA members; Kuya Art, our DJ for the night; UWSA (University of Winnipeg Students’ Association) for letting us use their space and equipment and finally, the performers: Melanie C. Sayarot, Mimoza Duot, Sherrie Ancheta, Matthew Arbillo, SoulDefy, Brakada, Sik Intentions, Amanda Joy Ruiz, Celeste Alcantara & SWIGFU, you are all so very talented and I am personally so grateful for your willingness to perform in less than three weeks. After ticket sales, raffles, food and drink sales, “After the Rain” raised over a thousand dollars, all of which will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross Disaster Relief in Asia. Stuff happens, and there IS something we did about it. Let’s all try to do more.
Photo courtesy of Mike Talastas of Li7 Photo