After receiving the good news, she’s now turning her energy to helping those in need by collecting items from Phuket residents to send to her homeland.
Typhoon Haiyan swept through the Philippines over the weekend, flattening homes and businesses and destroying large parts of the country. By this morning the official death toll had climbed to 2,357, disaster officials said, though other accounts have claimed more than 10,000 dead.
Miss Benares’s family live in Bacolod City and she has friends in Cebu – two areas hit by Typhoon Haiyan but not directly in the disaster area.
“I can’t really explain, I was absent minded for two days. I was thinking, ‘What is going to happen?’,” she says.
“We have a river at the back of our house, was it going to overflow? It was terrible, there was no power and no way of communicating. After about eight hours I managed to get hold of my family.”
After a Facebook post appealing for practical donations and support, Miss Benares was told about PhuketPnoy Balikbayan Box in Bangkok, who are offering free shipping for goods to Manila.
“Items collected in Phuket will be delivered to the Red Cross, who will then ensure the items reach those in the worst-affected areas.
“My family... touch wood they weren’t hurt. But if they were affected I would be thankful for people helping them, and who knows, maybe in the future it might be me needing help.
“The group of friends I have, we are all into volunteering. If we rely on the [Philippines] Government, nothing will happen. It’s better that we do it ourselves.”
Miss Benares is calling for donations of clothes, medicine, plus canned and non-perishable food items that are ready to eat and don’t require utensils or can openers. She does not want to collect cash. She’s also looking for large cardboard boxes to pack the items into.
People can donate items to Miss Benares’ Villareal Heights Hotel on Patak Rd in Kata, or also at Lucky 13 Sandwich in Chalong.
The first shipment will leave Saturday, and anyone wishing to donate can contact Miss Benares on 0860320253.
Meanwhile, Patong Beach’s Rotary Club is collecting cash donations in Phuket to send to victims of the typhoon.
Brad Kenny, president-elect of the Rotary Club of Patong Beach told The Phuket News that so far around B40,000 would be sent directly to the Philippines Rotary Clubs in the affected areas within around four or five days, plus whatever other donations they received.
“We do this for a lot of different disasters. This all relates back to how many people helped us during the tsunami. We had more than 1 million US dollars donated to our rotary club from people around the world after the tsunami for relief. This is our way to give back and acknowledge that.
“We are hoping to send the donation within four to five days, then we will continue collecting. We are sending it directly to rotary clubs who are assisting in the areas, and 100 per cent of the money will go to helping the people. There will be no administration fees.”
Those wishing to donate money should visit rotarypatong.org and click on “Bank Account Details” for directions. All donations must be followed up with an email or phone call to Mr Kenny, with details of the amount and that it is earmarked for the Philippines disaster relief fund.
Mr Kenny’s email is esppkt@ksc.th.com and phone number is 081-633-4279.