Bell Ingram estate agent’s fundraiser for wife’s typhoon hit village in the Philippines

A long-awaited trip to the Philippines to see his wife’s family has turned into a nightmare for Bell Ingram’s Andrew Fuller.

The senior associate, who heads up our estate agency team in Oban, and his wife Gerlie began their mammoth journey at the beginning of last week, flying via Hong Kong, before landing in Manila on Sunday.

Andrew takes up the story: “My wife Gerlie and I finally made it to the Philippines, only to find the last leg of our travel to her small island is prevented due to the huge typhoon that stuck on 16th December. 

“Gerlie’s small, coastal village was directly in the firing line, and we have had reports that just a couple of houses remain from a total of around 200. This destruction has been replicated over a massive area, wrecking the homes of hundreds of thousands of people and knocking out all communications. Even now we are unable to make contact. Food, water, and shelter are the key priorities. 

“We take the short flight tomorrow from Manila into Butuan City where we will stock up with essentials. It’s then a three or four hour drive into Surigao City. From there we have to find a boat to the island, a one-hour trip on calm seas. 

“We had two small boats prior to the typhoon, but have no idea if they even exist anymore. I’ve bought a small pocket wifi so fingers crossed I can get some news out when we get there.”

Andrew has set up a Just Giving page to try and raise funds to help the most vulnerable in Gurlie’s village.

He adds: “All being well, we will be heading into the affected zone on 21st December to try and find Gerlie’s family.”

Here’s the link to Andrew and Gerlie’s JustGiving page if you’d like to contribute:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/help-dinagat?utm_term=wNrPeq3pV

Article posted on 20/12/2021