Feeding Time... Keep Your Hands In The Vehicle

[Bruce]

I have a friend named Phil. He is 71 and dying rapidly of a neurological condition similar to ALS (Lou Gehrig disease). He had made a donation 2 months ago and a few days ago I saw him and he gave me money for a sack of rice. So the charity people in Catbalogan bought the sack of rice and divided it up into 5 sacks 10 kilos of rice in each sack.

Then they contacted 5 families and told them they would be getting the rice at about 12 noon. This is somewhat of an ordeal as they who run the charity have a limited budget and they have to make a decision on WHO actually gets the final donation. So there is usually some hurt feelings from others who did not get the rice this time. I stay out of it as I am a sucker for a poor old woman and I would be broke all the time if it was not for the charity staff who were raised in poverty and have hearts that are armor plated.

If you look close in the pics, you will see the women in their 'better clothes' and wearing some jewelry. But what you do not see is the flurry of activity before the pictures are taken (to prove the donation was done) as the women put on borrowed clothes and jewelry so they look their 'best' for the photos. Rather amusing.

The one couple in the photo did not have time to 'prepare' as they did not know they were included. I told the charity staff to make sure they were included as the man who was in the Philippine army 40 years ago, stops when ever he sees me on the street and salutes me like I am some army officer. And then he asks for some money for Tanduay. At least he is honest....... hehehehehe

These pics were taken yesterday. Also what is not shown are the crowds watching. There is an after effect in that for the next couple of days more (than usual) poor people will show up hoping for some extra give aways as they will say they missed the original distribution because they were out 'working'. But until more donations arrive, no more rice at this time.

[stevewool]

i have been trying to say something about this thread but i cant, no words can describe what i am trying to say, thank god there is people like you and the Phils of this world, so little can go so far, truly amazing

[nor cal mike]

God bless you Bruce !

[ibemarshall]

I am in line with Nor Cal Mike - Thank You Bruce and Thank You Phil!

Bruce - what does a sack of rice cost currently?

[Bruce]

The sack that my staff bought was 1690p. However, and now keep in mind that I as a Kano, have no idea on the quality of rice and I have gone 5+ years off and on in my life without eating any rice. My staff says that you can buy 'old stock' rice and lesser quality rice for as litle as 1400p per sack and up to 2,000p a sack for the best stuff (that is available out on Samar).

My friend Phil donated $50 and the rice (at 40p per $1 for easy math) was about $42 and the ATM fee of $2 so the staff got about $6 for their trouble.

[stevewool]

once it has been given to the people how long would it last, or will it be cooked and eaten in that day

[Bruce]

Depends on how many people inthe family and how many 'friends' show up that heard you got free rice! 1 sack will feed 5 people for 2 weeks depending on how much they eat.

I am sure there are some Pinays on the forum who can give a better and more detailed answer.

[stevewool]

if someone was to give to your charity and donate through paypay, who decides where it goes and what to buy with it, what you have shown us in this thread is someone gave you some money for rice so could someone say here is x amount of money i would like you to buy a sack of rice per month is this how you work it, sorry to ask these questions but if you dont ask you never will now,

[Bruce]

It is very easy! Go to the website below in my sign off area and use the paypal button and send a note with the paypal about what you want to do with it. If you want pics showing your name as proof the rice was delivered, no problem. Also you can decide to feed 1 family or divide in 5 sacks of 10k each. Your choice.

Here is the actual breakdown:

Paypal get 2.5% of the donation as their fee. ATM fees are about $2.00 and remember the conversion rate is a bit less than the published rate, which is another way the Philippine bank makes money. If you want to provide anything for the staff, add in a add it in too. I get nothing! As usual LOL.... So $50 to $55 per sack is about break even with the staff doing the distribution, depending on the conversion rate and the price of rice.

If you are in the US, the PayPal donation is tax deductible! Send me a PM and I will give you the email address of the family running the charity for me and you can communicate directly with them and plan out for donation.

[Thomas]

The sack that my staff bought was 1690p. However, and now keep in mind that I as a Kano, have no idea on the quality of rice and I have gone 5+ years off and on in my life without eating any rice. My staff says that you can buy 'old stock' rice and lesser quality rice for as litle as 1400p per sack and up to 2,000p a sack for the best stuff (that is available out on Samar).

It depends of supplier and season compared to harvests too. A small kano-filipina sarisari shop retailer paid more earlier, but after geting a better supplier through contacts, he got a sack of normal quality rice for 1400p. Perhaps the center can make a supplier count them as "retailer" :) although they give it away.

once it has been given to the people how long would it last, or will it be cooked and eaten in that day

10 kg is rather much. Because it's dried it become more weight when cooking it, making it some over 100 normal meals. But if they can, they want to eat 3 rice meals per day, and they can be many in a family, so 10 kg can be finnished rather soon.