Tuesday 12 November 2013
Press statement from the Bailiff
Nobody could fail to have been touched by the misery resulting from Typhoon Haiyan which has devastated large parts of the Philippines. There still remains an increasingly remote chance that people may be recovered alive from wrecked buildings.
In the past few days the full extent of the disaster has become plain. The typhoon is said to be the most powerful to reach land with gusts of some 175 miles per hour.
The heartfelt sympathy of our community is clearly with the families of the bereaved, with those who have suffered injury and with the people of the Philippines, a poor country intermittently ravaged by natural disasters of one kind or another. The sheer scale of the disaster is difficult to comprehend.
The Bailiff's Disaster Relief Fund has existed since 2001. The purpose of the Fund is to act as a focus for Guernsey donations in support of fund raising initiatives promoted by the Disasters Emergency Committee, an English registered charity. The Disasters Emergency Committee unites a number of leading independent humanitarian agencies in the United Kingdom in their efforts to maximise donations from the British public in order to contribute to an effective humanitarian response to major disasters overseas.
The policy of my predecessors and myself has been to promote appeals where a disaster has been declared by the Disasters Emergency Committee provided that the States of Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission has also seen fit to support it with public funds.
The decision taken by the DEC to declare a disaster and solicit funds is a compelling and irresistible one. I am sure we were grateful that our Overseas Aid Commission was swiftly off the mark in assisting the DEC in its efforts to provide, as soon as possible, the essentials of life to a desperate and traumatised country.
The Bailiff's Disaster Relief Fund provides a facility through which donations by Islanders can be channeled the Disasters Emergency Committee or to other charities recommended by the Guernsey Overseas Commission. It is not intended to discourage would be donors from making donations to local or other charities of their choice. The intention of the Bailiff's Fund is to provide a convenient easy way of donating and to assist donors who are uncertain whether to make a donation to one charity rather than another.
I believe it would be helpful if the media would publicise the names of the individual charities that benefit under the umbrella of the Disasters Emergency Committee, which is renowned as a cost conscious charity.
The need to assist
So many buildings in the Philippines have been devastated and many have died and countless more are injured or have lost their homes. Many airports are out of action; power and communication lines have been brought down and roads rendered impassable due to debris. The tragedy requires a positive response from every country able to provide aid. The current tragedy occurred less than four weeks after a massive earthquake hit one of the Islands.
How to give
Anyone wishing to make a donation through the Bailiff's Disaster Relief Fund can do so as follows:
By bank transfer:
Bank: Nat West Bank, Guernsey
Sort Code: 60-09-20
Account Number: 74070487
In person at the bank counter:
Any branch of NatWest in the Bailiwick for the account of Bailiff's Disaster Relief Fund, number 74070487
By post:
Cheques may be made payable to Bailiff's Disaster Relief Fund and sent to The Bailiff's Chambers, Royal Court House, St. Peter Port, GY1 2NZ
In addition, it is hoped that within the next day or so it will be possible to make online donations. Further information in this regard will be issued as soon as possible.
Contact information
Bailiff's Chambers
Royal Court House
St Peter Port
Guernsey
GY1 2PB
Tel: (01481) 725277
