Offering a mic for relief

For three days after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines, WSU graduate student Jeff Godoy didn’t know whether his family was alive or dead.

“It was the three most agonizing days I’ve ever experienced in my life,” Godoy said. “I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t call anyone.”

After days of making calls to his father, Godoy received an answer confirming that a section of his family’s roof was missing and the house had suffered damage, but his family was alive.

Godoy shared his story at Speak for Relief, an event held by the WSU Typhoon Haiyan Relief Coordinating Committee. The event, which took place Wednesday night on the Todd steps, focused on solidarity with the victims and others affected by Typhoon Haiyan.

It also raised money to donate to the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), a volunteer-run organization that purchases necessary supplies like drinkable water for victims.

More than 50 students attended the event and had the chance to donate in cash or online. They could also simply listen to the speakers and participate in the candlelight vigil that followed the speakers.

Paulina Abustan, a graduate student and committee leader, said the focus now is immediate relief, which primarily involves sending money to the Philippines so that relief organizations can buy needed supplies.

Stephen Bischoff, a professor and retention counselor for the Asian American and Pacific Islander Student Center, encouraged students and community members to donate to NAFCON, as the funds go directly to victims of Haiyan.

“They’re no stranger to working with disaster,” Bischoff said.

Each of the speakers emphasized that students can help simply by showing support for survivors of the disaster.

“We’re all just regular students or community people,” said Joel Mamerto, a junior computer engineering student and president of the Filipino-American Student Association (FASA). “But there are many people here who can do something because they want to do it.”

The event included a slideshow of images of the typhoon’s devastating effects.

“Seeing these photos hurt,” Mamerto said.

People everywhere felt the impact of the disaster, even those with no connections to people in Leyte province where the typhoon touched down, or Tacloban, the city hit the hardest.

“It’s really sad for us as Filipinos, just watching these people who could possibly be our family members impacted,” Abustan said.

The speeches were followed by a moment of silence for the victims of the disaster. Afterward, the leaders hosted an open mic.

Performers expressed themselves in a variety of ways from dancing to spoken word to singing and guitar-playing. The emotionally charged environment left two participants in tears.

ASWSU President Taylor Hennessey expressed gratitude for the students who organized the event.

“I think it goes to show just how global a lot of the disasters have become,” Hennessey said. “Students have family there, they have friends there, and really, Cougs have a big heart and they want to give back in more ways than we can count.”

Abustan said the committee’s efforts will not stop at immediate relief.

“After the hype with this typhoon is over and we stop seeing news feeds online, we still want to keep working and supporting long-term relief efforts,” she said.