Help Aid Leyte, Philippines - Food for Friends in MacArthur
Help Aid Leyte, Philippines - Food for Friends in MacArthur
Where I have been
“Where have you been?” If you have not noticed I have not really been around lately. I have been around, but not really here. Was I wandering around in a lost hole? Did I travel to a remote jungle in South America? Perhaps I was secluded on an Island with Adriana Lima? None of those actually occurred. On November 7th I had lost contact with my good friends. My friends who treated me really well. It was all because of Yolanda, a whirling power of speed that ripped apart anything in her path.
About Leyte
A year and a half ago I went to visit a friend I got to know online. She had invited me to visit her in the small village of MacArthur, which lies on the island of Leyte, Philippines. When I asked people what there was to do there. People said there is nothing to do on Leyte; that is what I wanted to do, nothing. I headed off to Leyte to visit my friend. On arriving my friend greeted me and took me in to enjoy the splendor that was the Island of Leyte. We spent time getting to know Tacloban City and relaxing on the paradise like beaches of MacArthur. It was full of amazement and wonder.
Today, the place is ruins. What used to be rows and rows of houses now look like piles of match sticks from the air. That saddens me. As a matter of fact it saddened me since the incident happened. I had no clue what do. I felt helpless.
My Friends In Need
My friend Jessa, the friend I meet in Leyte, is the inspiration of this website you are visiting now. If was not for her the website would not exist. The website was created to help her break into photography and learn travel journalism. I too was learning at the same time. Jessa, a young 20 year old girl, helped me explore my kid side while explored Leyte; as did most of the extremely friendly people I meet on Leyte. Everyone had such a laid back attitude on the island and always found a way to laugh. Although Jessa’s backyard was a beach, she lived in a simple hut without electricity, plumbing or running water. Today, it is nothing but a pile of sticks. No electricity, no water, and no food.
The aid relief is there to help, but food is still scarce. And for my friends who are in a village an hour and a half away from Tacloban, it is hard get this aid. One of my friends told me that all they do all day is wait, because there is nothing else to do, and hope that aid comes that day. So they go and get food for themselves instead of waiting. The biggest problem is that food has more than doubled in cost on the neighboring islands and the western cities of Leyte.
Give, Aid, Help
So what do I do. I do not know. I thought and thought about what could be done. I came up with the idea to up and leave and join the aid efforts in Tacloban and then making my way to MacArthur, offering my skills as a photographer. But I had obligations at home made that not possible. Here is the solution. Why not aid my friends in helping rebuild their family. Since mainly they need food, why not start them a fund to buy food, for themselves and their neighbors. So that is what I am doing.
I started a fund to help feed my friends and the people of MacArthur Leyte. The fund all goes to the people of MacArthur buy food and supplies to live. It is all setup through GoFundMe.com. The fund will go straight to help my friends Jessa, Cha Cha, and “Funny Paniki” to help them get food to eat. Do not trust me or the fund? That is fine, you do not have to. Check out these following links of some other reputable aid foundations. Just know that donations through my fund will go straight to the people:
Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter using #pathlesstravels, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know, what you think about the disaster. Do you know any friends who were caught up in the mess? Thank you and please share 
Erick Redcloud
A partially blind Graphic Designer, Freelance Travel Photographer, Artist, Buddhist and Vegetarian who loves to travel. Erick loves traveling by being with the locals and going off the beaten path. He is the founder and owner of Pathlesstravels and loves inspiring others to follow their dreams, whether it is to travel or something completely different. He started Pathlesstravels to hone is photography skills and to meet amazing people, and to help a friend break into journalism. Check out his photography at his link.
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