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Swiss People Take Direct Action to Assist Typhoon Victims
12 October 2009- The Philippine Embassy in Berne, Switzerland reported
to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Swiss people residing in
Switzerland directly donated the amount of Swiss Francs 5,054,451
during the ”Donation Day” of the Swiss Solidarity Foundation held on 9
October 2009 for the typhoon victims in the Philippines, earthquake
victims in Indonesia and flood victims in India. In fact,
1.2 million Swiss Francs were received in advance of the collection day
totaling Swiss Francs 6,254,451 and the amount is not definitive and
may still go higher.
The Swiss Solidarity Foundation is the humanitarian arm of Swiss Radio
and Television and the private print media. It works with 30
partner organizations to provide emergency relief in disaster
areas. Some of their partner organizations are Caritas, Medicins
Sans Frontieres, Swiss Red Cross, Handicap International among others.
The Swiss Asian Chamber of Commerce (SACC) based in Zurich coordinated
directly with the Swiss Solidarity Foundation to assist the
Philippines. SACC is composed of entities doing business in Asia,
particularly Southeast Asia.
The SACC Taskforce Asia (www.taskforceasia.ch) was established by
Philippine Ambassador to Switzerland Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Martin
Kurer, SACC’s Philippine Chapter Chairman, in close cooperation with
the Indonesian Ambassador in Switzerland and in coordination with the
Philippine Swiss Business Council based in Manila, represented by Mr.
Reiner Gloor. The objective of the Taskforce was to raise funds for the
victims of the typhoons in the Philippines and earthquakes in Indonesia.
The Swiss Solidarity Foundation acknowledged that the biggest
contribution during its Donation Day came from the SACC Taskforce Asia
amounting to 100,000 Swiss francs.
The Philippine Embassy also conveyed the gratitude of Secretary of
Defense and Chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council
(NDCC) Gilbert Teodoro to the Swiss people, which states “The Typhoons
Ketsana and Parma have created a natural disaster of unprecedented
extent. The Philippine Government is doing its best to support
our people with food, clean water, medicines and other items needed for
survival. Reconstruction will be equally challenging.
I have been informed about the efforts of the Swiss people and the
Swiss Government’s assistance and I wish to extend my sincerest
gratitude. I wish to specifically mention the efforts of Swiss
Solidarity, Glueckskette and Radio DRS. Thank you.”
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