Typhoon Lawin Relief for Ria Escano

This past week, the Philippines was struck by a super typhoon devastating the country.

One of those homes that was destroyed belonged to Ria Escano, my virtual assistant (VA) for the past year whom I have come to consider as family.

Policemen remove a roof, which was blown off its building by super typhoon Haima, along a road in a village in Penablanca town, Cagayan province, north of Manila on October 21, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE

The epicenter of Super Typhoon Lawin (international name Haima) was in the city of Tuguegarao, a small rural city with a population of 154,000 people where Ria lived. Super Typhoon Haima was expected to affect as many as 2.7 million people in seven provinces.

In Tuguegarao, the average wage is anywhere from a few cents to $2 - $3 dollars an hour. The typical family makes approximately 181,000 Philippine Pesos ($3,500 USD) annually. Ria is a single mother who works to support her two young children, Zane and Riev. Ria, along with the her neighbors, evacuated their homes as they watched their cars, belongings - literally everything they owned - be swallowed by the floods.

I’m not a religious man, but I prayed that Ria and her children would live to see the next day.

The message I received prior to the typhoon hitting:


“TUESDAY

Ria Escano: Hi Sir!

We are experiencing supertyphoon right now in our province.This will be the 2nd  typhoon for this week. We are in signal#4 but the typhoon will land tonight. In case you can't contact me or I can't do my job it's either we don't have electricity, internet connection or both.

Please I'm asking you to pray for us because as the news said this will be the worst typhoon our province will experience. We're all praying here for all the safety of Filipinos..

Thank you so much Sir! God bless us all!

Daniel Tam: Ria me and my girlfriend will be praying

Daniel Tam: Please stay safe

Ria Escano: Thank you so much sir. We are all having a prayer brigade here. The river is just near our house and we don't have 2nd floor but we all entrust everything God. Please tell your girlfriend THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PRAYING FOR US.. I really appreciate you.

FRIDAY

Daniel Tam: Hi, Ria. Just checking in on you. Hope everything is well. Please let me know an update as soon as you can!”

And the news I received after:


“Hi sir Daniel!

I want to let you know that me And my family are safe. The typhoon really hits our province. We taught it's really our end but thank God we are all safe. The roof of our house was damaged, they flew and the water went inside our house and we were all wet. Even big houses and establishments were destroyed. i only borrowed this cellphone I am using because my cellphone was also destroyed.our car was also destroyed.everything was destroyed we also don't have electricity.according to the electrician the fastest time we can revive our electricity will be a month.there's also scarcity of water and food here sir.

I am messaging you sir to ask for help to restore what's lost with us.if you can trust me, can I borrow money for me to buy our priority needs and also generator for me to continue my work because we really don't have any means to have money but only through upwork.i really need to earn for a living.we are losing hope but we entrust everything to God and He gives us hope ang courage to continue to live. Please sir, I hope I can borrow money from you and I'll work for it.thank you so much sir and God bless you always.”

The message I received after confirming her necessities:


“Thank you so much sir for the reply.just borrowed a cellphone again that's why I only replied now.I need a minimum of $500 sir for the generator and some foods.but it is still up to you sir how much you can lend me. We really need the generator for me to continue the work and for the comfort of all the children in the family.there are alot of mosquitoes and it's really hot which alters their sleep. as i can continue the job little by little we can fix the house. I really appreciate your concern sir. If you'll lend me money sir is it ok if it's through western union or direct to my bank account? If it will be through upwork it will took a week to process and the bank will also process it for 5 days. And the upwork fee is big. Please i hope you can trust me regarding this matter sir.I will never fool you and I really awe you a lot and I thank God I met a good hearted boss like you.

if ever you'll lend me sir this is my bank account sir:

[Info Removed]
Bank of [Info Removed]
Account # [Info Removed]

Thank you so much sir and God bless!!!”

I was relieved to have heard from Ria and was incredibly glad that everyone was safe. I asked if there was anything I could do and she asked me for an upfront loan of $500.

When the campaign ends, I plan to donate the entire amount Ria requested instead so she can purchase a generator, supplies, and food, along with all of the funds donated through this campaign to help her rebuild her home and life.

This was something that I felt like I could not turn my back away from, which is why this campaign needed to be up as soon as I realized it was an option.

Ria (left) with her family celebrating her Mother’s (middle, thumbs up) birthday earlier this year in April, who underwent her sixth chemo-therapy session.

If you are unable to donate, I would truly appreciate your help sharing this GoFundMe page across your social media to spread the word.

If you have any questions regarding the campaign, please feel free to reach out to me.

Thank you for your time, and God bless.

- Daniel “SHGLBMX” Tam