October 19, 2009 - (San Francisco, CA) - On the morning of October 19, Give2Asia hosted a conference call on disaster response in the Philippines. Thanks to everyone who attended. In this call, we featured Dr. Steven Rood of The Asia Foundation and Gillian Yeoh of Give2Asia, each discussing immediate relief and long-term recovery needs following the tragic Typhoon Ketsana and Parma.

Some key points we shared on the call as advice to donors included:

- Providing financial support versus in-kind donations. This helps to support the local economy by allowing NGOs to purchase needed supplies from local vendors, and which also provides the most cost-effective way to deliver the right supplies to the right people.

- Supporting groups that involve local communities in the relief effort. Empowering local communities is part of the recovery process, and often these groups and people know the best way to provide relief.

- Considering longer-term recovery needs. In addition to providing immediate relief support, consider the longer-term needs of the affected communities, which will be struggling long past the initial response and media coverage.

In case you were not able to attend, we have posted both the written transcript here. Check below for the audio recordings of the call.  Also for the most recent information on the typhoons, check out or Typhoon Ketsana page here.

And if you have additional questions, please contact Gillian Yeoh at gyeoh@give2asia.org or call 415.743.3371.

Dr. Steven Rood, Philippines Country Representative of The Asia Foundation

Click here to download audio of Dr. Steven Rood's on-the-ground perspective of the typhoons impact and disaster response in the Philippines.









Gillian Yeoh, Give2Asia Program Officer

Click here to download Gillian Yeoh's audio presentation on Give2Asia's disaster response in the Philippines and recommendations for donor responses.