Taal Volcano eruption evacuees receive aid from Thai students, faculty, expats

Ms. Jongkasem with her Filipino and Thai staff

A primary school student sheepishly handed folded bills to his Filipino teacher.

“Teacher AJ, I hope it will help the kids in your country,” the boy said.

“I was almost in tears. It was not only him, but the whole AIT International School, who are sharing whatever they can give to our people,” Teacher AJ or Anjelo Mungcal shares.

Mungcal is a teacher at Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) International School in Pathumthani, Thailand. After 13 years in Thailand, he has become all too familiar with the kindness of the Thais.

Thailand may have not experienced the worst natural calamities, but the presence of the growing Filipino community in the Kingdom made them aware of the struggles facing the Philippines.

“It is not the first time that the Thai people extend assistance to the Filipinos. They also sent help during the onslaught of Yolanda Super Typhoon,”Mungcal said.

When the news about the eruption of Taal Volcano broke on January 12, at around 12:00 noon in Thailand, Mungcal immediately posted an announcement on his Facebook asking for donations for the evacuees in the towns near Taal Volcano.

Parents, students, and other expatriates based in Bangkok extend financial support to buy N95 masks that were distributed to the evacuees.

Ms. Jongkasem with students at Stamford International University

Anonymous donors from Thailand and the international community in the Kingdom are extending help through charity drives organized by Filipino workers.

To date, the AIT International School and AIT community was able to send the much needed masks to their contact in the Philippines.

The Filipino Culture Club at Stamford International University, a private university in Bangkok partnered with a Filipino-Thai entrepreneur, Ms. Jongkasem Julakham, to raise funds for the Taal Evacuees.

Ms. Julakham is the owner of Toto Inasal, a Filipino restaurant in Bangkok.

On January 20, the groups introduced the Filipino Food Festival to around 2,000 students from Thailand, Philippines and other countries. The proceeds of the sales will be turned over to a partner organization in the Philippines.

“The Filipino Food Festival is a way of introducing our food and the Filipino culture of bayanihan or helping each other in time of calamity. This way, the international community had a taste of our food as well as becoming a part of the charity,” Ms. Jongkasem explains.

Ms. Jongkasem and the Filipino Culture Club also plan to purchase Batangas Coffee or “Kapeng Barako” to help Batangueno coffee growers adverselt affected by the volcanic eruption.

She pointed out that  it will also help in the promotion of the Liberica and Arabica coffee grown in Batangas.

“Filipinos are hardworking people. They have great love to their family and loyal to their country. For me, Filipinos are the symbol of love existing in this world. Wherever they are, they help their people whenever they can,” Ms. Jongkasem said.

GSG