A Dutch student lends a helping hand at the relief center in CICC. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Dutch student Jamie Juanita Denise Betz and her two friends were forced to cancel their trip to Boracay after typhoon Ruby passed by Cebu last Sunday.
When the 22-year-old Betz read the news about the destruction left by typhoon Ruby and the need for more volunteers to repack relief goods, she and her fellow Dutch friends went to the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) yesterday.
¨This is the first time that I volunteered to do something for typhoon victims. I also loved to volunteer and help because the Filipinos are a happy and honest people. I really like Filipinos,” a smiling Betz told Cebu Daily News.
Betz sat with other volunteers at the CICC basement and prepared the family food packs which each contained six kilos of rice, eight canned goods and noodles.
Betz studies at the Hogeschool Van Amsterman in the Netherlands. She’s an intern at the Share-A-Child Movement Inc. in Cebu.
Destruction
“This is also a good social work experience. It’s good to see people here who are working together for the good of others. When I´m here in the Philippines I feel so safe here. I am also surprised that the people here always think and help each other,¨ she said.
Betz said she hopes that the victims could immediately recover from the destruction caused by typhoon Ruby. “Everything will get better,” she said.
Other volunteers who came at the CICC were Central Command (Centcom) personnel and students of the University of Cebu (UC) and Mandaue City College.
One of the student volunteers was 18-year-old Andrew Paroco, a human resource management student of Mandaue City College.
Unity
Paroco, who said it was his first time to volunteer, spent an hour carrying boxes and sacks of food packs at the CICC basement before heading back to school for his preliminary examinations.
“At least I helped the victims affected by typhoon Ruby. I will also invite my friends and classmates to come over here if they have some free time,¨ Paroco told Cebu Daily News.
He said he was unable to volunteer last year when supertyphoon Yolanda hit northern Cebu and other areas in Central Philippines.
“I always appreciate the unity of the Filipino people in times of disasters,¨”Paroco said.
Paroco said he plans to return and help out at the CICC during his break time and after exams.
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