The Society of African Missions (SMA) Silang community extended help to victims of Typhoon Odette, internationally known as Typhoon Rai, which wreaked havoc in six Philippine regions in December 2021. Typhoon Rai, locally known as Typhoon Odette in the Philippines entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility on 14 December 2021 with peak winds up to 235m/hr. It made nine landfalls between 16 and 17 December in the provinces of Dinagat Islands, Surigao Del Norte, Southern Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, negros Oriental and Palawan.
Six identified beneficiaries were given portions of the total accumulated funds including the six seminarians and two priests whose families were deeply affected by the said calamity. The Diocese of Kabankalan from Negros Oriental, one of the extremely flattened dioceses, was also one of the mentioned recipients. The amount of money gathered for the said donation came from the ‘Caroling’ initiative of the seminarians in some of the houses around Good Shepherd Parish, Las Piñas.
Caroling as a tradition is a common activity among Filipinos during the Christmas season or even at the beginning of Simbang Gabi, a devotional nine-day series of Masses attended by Filipino Catholics in anticipation of Christmas. Filipinos form groups and go from house to house singing Christmas carols for the residents. Households give small amounts of money as a sign of appreciation for the carolers.
Raulyn Estalane
