The Philippines’ says thank you to the world for sending in aid and support after the devastation brought by Super Typhoon Haiyan (known as Bagyong Yolanda in the Philippines).

The advertisement of “thanks” #PHthankyou was released at major cities worldwide like New York, Paris, London, Tokyo and Singapore. I happened to pass by ION Orchard last weekend to take a peek.

The ad appears every few minutes along with MediaCorp OOH and ION Orchard commercials.

According to a report on Channel NewsAsia, the Singapore Red Cross raised more than S$10 million in donations for the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan (approximately PHP 350 million).

I hope that the worldwide donations reached the people that need them the most.

I witnessed the outpouring of love and charity after the onslaught. My Singaporean colleague’s sister organised a fundraiser for victims of the typhoon. A librarian at work showed empathy and concern if I had any relatives in the affected areas… then she e-mailed me a link to a donation drive that was happening in Singapore. My boss kindly asked everyone to donate to the victims if they could. The HR department at my company organised a bake sale where the proceeds would go to Typhoon victims.

My Filipino friends in Singapore also came together to remit cash into donation accounts set up back home. There was a food packing and donation drive that took place at Labrador Park. After I made my own remittance at Lucky Plaza, the lady behind the counter said there were many people who had made remittances for the purpose of donating to the likes of Sagip Kapamilya or Red Cross Philippines.

If I were back in Manila I would’ve taken time off to help out at relief centers. My friends in Manila organised their own donation drives as well. Some even went to Manila airport to comfort the evacuees coming from Visayas.

So yes, #PHthankyou to others may seem like an advertising campaign. But from where I see it, the world did give back to the Philippines’ when the country needed it.

Singapore, thank you for helping the Philippines. 🙂

(Now, to sustain that help and rebuild.)