The Philippine General Consul of Los Angeles visited Direct Relief headquarters yesterday to learn more about our typhoon response efforts as well as to help us build new partnerships with organizations working locally.

The Honorable Ma. Hellen Barber De La Vega (pictured above in red) was accompanied by members of the Philippine Disaster Relief Organization (PeDRO), a Los Angeles-based Filipino volunteer organization formed to assist survivors of emergencies in the U.S. and the Philippines.

“We are already on the stage of rebuilding and recovery,” said the Consul General of the Filipino government’s plan to help the country build back from Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda), which devastated the island nation in November.

Since the typhoon hit, Direct Relief has been in touch with the Consul General’s office in LA. She was present for the largest emergency airlift in our organization’s history, a massive air shipment with enough medicines to treat 250,000 people affected by the typhoon.

“Your sense of compassion is legendary,” she kindly said of Direct Relief’s typhoon response efforts.

As Direct Relief’s emergency response team forms the next stages of the recovery effort in the Philippines, it continues to form new partnerships with other groups working in the area in order to reach the most people in need as possible and to create better coordination and not duplicate efforts.

Thanks to the generosity of Direct Relief’s supporters, more than $10 million worth of medicines and medical supplies has already been sent to help thousands of people affected by the storm access critical health care.

Click here to read more about Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts.