Donation Links for Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Relief now available

Me and the Saplads in Calbayog City, Philippines, 2012

Living in the Philippines was often difficult. In fact, it was the most challenging time of my life. But my host family, the Saplads, always provided me with the love and humor that got me through the hard days. They live in Calbayog City, where there is no power, high crime, and a surge of displaced people since Typhoon Haiyan struck the south end of the island of Samar.

We lost our Mama in October, a woman that was tough, loving, and humble. Despite these challenges, the boys are spending their time helping their neighbors and providing food relief to devastated eastern Samar communities. They are some of the most selfless people I have ever met.

A direct, person-to-person donation will help them, but will also help others struggling even more in parts of the Philippines that are not mentioned in international news. If you trust your money with a little leap of faith, this family will put it to the best use possible around the island.

Giving directly to strangers in a foreign country may, understandably, be discomforting for some. If you want any more information, email me personally at Low2HighExpeditions@gmail.com and I will answer all questions that I can.

If you wish to donate to the Saplads in Calbayog City, use the 'Donate' button in the right column. To donate to a relief organization in the Philippines, I have included links to several.

Salamat.

-Kyle

Fundraising

My friends in the Philippines and I have been discussing the best way to get funds to them. Banks are only open 2-3 hours a day since they must run on generators. ATMs are not being resupplied with cash. Western Union is also working for a few hours a day, but takes a large fee.

One contact has a PayPal account that could be used. They would still have issues turning that into useful cash.

What do people think? Give directly? Support an NGO on the ground? It feels so overwhelming to figure out what people are comfortable sending donations toward, and what would be the best means to deliver the money. I am open to all suggestions.

-Kyle

90's Tech

And yes, most of the pictures from the road will be flip phone selfies. Deal with it.

Another Ride, Another Blog

Thank God for Google! These blogs are the only way I can build websites for my rides, and I think they do just fine.

This latest bad idea has a couple themes or motivations behind it. I am currently living in New Orleans, and I have 10 days to kill before Christmas, so why not do a ride? I've been wanting to try a cold weather tour, and I think this will be a good introduction. I may hit snow and ice further north, but at least Louisiana should be free of the really nasty weather.

A few months ago, I set a personal goal to stand on the highest point in each of the 50 US states before I die. I have a few high points already (New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Colorado), so this is a continuation of that plan. The mountains along the way are open year round, and are easy treks to their summits. It should be a good way to spend a few days before the holidays.

I used to live in Saint Louis, so that is my destination. I still have friends there, which makes the logistics much easier. Saint Louis is where I really honed my skills in emergency management, which is the industry I am trying to break into down in New Orleans. Saint Louis will be a homecoming, of sorts. It's the place where I changed careers, eventually leading me to the Gulf Coast.

And finally, I am still working out the details, but I hope to make this trip a fundraiser for some friends of mine in the Philippines who survived Typhoon Haiyan (called Yolanda locally). I served as a Peace Corps Response volunteer in Calbayog City on the island of Samar. The island suffered massive damage to its critical infrastructure, and my friends have been relaying some rather disturbing stories about post-typhoon life in Calbayog over the past few weeks. I want to help them out, but am a broke-ass graduate student (as you can see by my sleek Diamondback bicycle). The Africa ride was a successful fundraiser, so why not seize this opportunity to help out some really good people that are finding themselves in a really bad situation?

I'll post fundraiser details once I've worked it all out.

-Kyle