E-donate to help Typhoon Haiyan survivors

Two months ago, Mr Paolo Baltao, President of G-Xchange, a subsidiary of Globe Telecom, one of the leading telecommunications services providers in the Philippines, joined the Better Than Cash Alliance’s UN General Assembly week panel discussion advocating the merits of public-private partnerships to digital financial inclusion. Today his firm is putting words into action: Globe’s subscribers can donate to the typhoon relief using their mobile phones. With a quick text message, people can quickly donate credit via Red Cross and other preferred aid organisations working in the stricken areas.

“We encourage people to take part in helping thousands of Typhoon Yolanda-affected communities in a way that’s easy, safe, and hassle-free. We hope that concerned citizens who may not be able to join relief operations can do their share in helping rebuild the nation. No amount is big or small, as these donations will surely go a long way and mean a lot to our kababayans in typhoon-stricken areas,” said Mr Baltao.

Initially opened for local Globe subscribers, an international e-donation service has now also been made available. Learn more about Globe’s e-donation campaign. Many other groups have partnered up with the government and aid groups to provide safer, faster means of supporting the relief and recovery programme in the Philippines. The Embassy of the Philippines in the United States urges people not to donate goods, which can be costly for aid groups to store and transport and often inappropriate to the needs of the affected communities. Instead they and most aid groups ask people to provide financial support which can be more effectively allocated to the most urgent needs of survivors both now and during the recovery period to come. Electronic donations generally are a transparent, trackable form of donation with lower cost overheads.

Learn more on the Philippines response and more ways to donate. Details of Mr Baltao’s and Ambassador Cuisia’s panel discussion on public-private partnerships and the benefits to poor people can be found here.