Silliman sends aid to typhoon victims

CEBU, Philippines - A week after it first called for donations for those who were badly hit by typhoon Yolanda, Silliman University (SU) collected and sent 13 tons of relief goods to Leyte and Samar.

"Our first appeal of donations estimated 13 tons of relief goods broken down as follows: 405 boxes of assorted food items with 1,761 packs, 76 packs of assorted food items, 762 packs, 68 boxes and 152 sacks of assorted used clothing, 102 boxes of mineral water with 1,791 bottles and 3 boxes of sardines with 372 cans," said Dr. Betsy Joy Tan, vice president for academic affairs, during SU's all-university convocation held Monday last week.

Tan said that the university's donation drive is part of what duly defines a whole person education in SU. "You learn not only from reading or being active in the classroom, you learn more when you are able to give impact to the lives of people and actually contribute to the improvements their living condition," she added.

Aside from donating relief goods, Tan said SU also formed other initiatives as a way of helping Yolanda's victims. The university deployed 10-member teams of the Volunteer Fire and Rescue Unit to locate family members of students, faculty and staff. As of last week, the team has already reported information on 13 families, she said.

"We are also preparing some proposals in the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA) to send out a scholarship fund to be made readily available to students from disaster-stricken areas in the Philippines," the university official also said.

Tan also highlighted the relief efforts of Silliman during disasters prior to Yolanda, such as sending a rescue team during the Bayawan flooding last October 7 and a group of social workers, psychologists, and nurses to Bohol after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that rocked the Visayas last October 15.

Meanwhile, Tan also reported in her speech that SU is ranked among the top six universities in the Philippines, the second top school in the country under the international students' category, and is within the top 301-325 bracket of the top Asian universities, according to data from international independent research institution Quacquarelli Symonds.

She also highlighted in her speech four developments that improved student services last semester, such as the five-day week schedule, where Mondays are used for makeup classes and suspensions from typhoons and disasters, the Wi-Fi densification program allowing students and staff to access the internet from 45 Wi-Fi areas in the campus, student-run online radio station "Silliman NetRadio," and the online enrollment system which was implemented for continuing students during the start of the second semester.

Tan also urged students and faculty to fully use the official Silliman University e-mail accounts to keep posted for updates in the university website and Facebook page. — (FREEMAN)