BE A FRIEND OF SUFFERING HUMANITY - GORDON TO AMBASSADORS

Senator Richard J. Gordon, chairman and CEO of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), has knocked on the hearts of the different ambassadors posted in the country for donations for the families affected by the various disasters that hit the country recently.

Hosting a fund-raising dinner at the Peninsula Manila Friday night, Gordon told the ambassadors present and the representatives of the different embassies that the PRC is trying to raise funds to cope up with the different disasters that hit various parts of the country such as earthquakes, floods, typhoons and others.

"Right now, we're trying to make sure that we generate more resources because there's just too many disasters occurring. A lot of people are in need of help. All of you should be a friend of suffering humanity. Sometimes we deal with problems here in a way that first world countries would deal with differently," he said.

During the dinner, Gordon showed the different humanitarian assistance provided by the Red Cross, pointing out that the foremost humanitarian organization in the country raises funds in various ways to ensure that it could extend whatever assistance is needed.

"We raise money, if you go to a MRT (Metro Rail Transit) or LRT (Light Rail Transit) train, there are always tin cans at the stations there where people can drop coins. That's just one of our sources of funds, we have donors too. It's always a partnership. The Red Cross strategy is to be the preferred partner of choice by everyone," he said.

Present at the fund-raising dinner were Ambassadors Anke Reiffunstuel, Germany; Bjorn Staurset Jahnsen, Norway; Songkane Luangmuninthone, Laos; Vasin Ruangprateepsaeng, Thailand; Harold Fries, Sweden; and Artemiz Sumer, Turkey.

Embassies that sent representatives included Australia, European Union Delegation, France, Spain, and Indonesia.