By Lois Rogers|Correspondent

Since Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines Nov. 8, members of the Trenton Diocese’s large Filipino-American community have united their energies to help not only relatives in the stricken nation but countless unknown survivors afflicted by the storm.

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In the weeks that followed the storm, praying for the lost while raising funds for the living has been the main mission of the many in the Filipino American associations and clubs throughout the four counties. Organizers say the community is in it for the long haul.

More often than not, the benefits are being held in the parish churches that are the center of their spiritual life and the schools which nourish and educated the minds of their children. These occasions never fail to include personal remembrances of family members and ancestral homes and businesses swept away by Haiyan.

They are marked by an abiding sense of love for the suffering and faith in the future.

“The heart of the Filipino community is here tonight,” exclaimed Gilbert Morales, the main organizer of a musical cavalcade that rocked the gymnasium in Holy Innocents School, Neptune, Nov. 29 as he watched a growing audience assemble.

With video footage of the storm providing a compelling backdrop, Morales, standing off to the side, spoke of how “right after (Haiyan) happened,” the community here rallied to assist. The large Filipino community throughout the shore had come out for the concert, he said. They would be a constant presence during the recovery and rebuilding phase, sending as much help as they could.

Inspiration for the effort was clear in the personal witness of two members of the community – Letty Falanga and Frances Dominguez – whose extended families are residents of some of the worst hit areas – the Leyte and Samar regions.

Falanga, an official of the Filipino-American Club of the Jersey Shore, one of the sponsors of the event, spoke movingly at the beginning of the evening, calling the typhoon the “the worst storm,” her family had ever experienced.

Her family members, she said, made the decision to ride the storm out, thinking it would pass. “But the 20-foot storm surge was too strong,” she said tearfully. “I lost a lot of family members. An uncle and aunt and three cousins are dead. Others are missing. Those who are alive have nowhere to go. It is too heart-breaking. … The house is gone, the coconut farm is gone. The barns are gone.”

“It is so heartbreaking. … The money you donate will help so many people.”

Frances Dominguez, whose daughter, Cherith Matlosz emceed the evening, told the group about the “unimaginable week of horror” she experienced during what was supposed to have been a wonderful vacation back home with family members.

Addressing the group, Dominguez shared how while she was thankful to be “one of the survivors with my sister and brother-in-law,” she is still reeling from the shock of the “horrific week.” It began when the manager at the Tacloban resort they were staying in told the guests that the “whole town would be hit by the typhoon and we would have to leave.”

The three departed as quickly as they could, heading for higher ground. Instead of finding safe harbor, they ended up in Samar which would be terribly destroyed. “We had to ride out the storm, we witnessed the surge,” said Dominguez.

She described the storm as a “category five nightmare with 300-mile an hour winds” that left “people dead on the road, floating bodies, destroyed roads. Some of my brother-in-law’s family died or are missing. They were gone – just like that. Gone.”

Dominguez, who lives in Flushing, N.Y., had come to the benefit at the behest of her daughter, one of the organizers. She spoke of the fact that she was a social worker in the Philippines before coming to America. “I have been through many storms,” she said. “But this was one of a kind. Thousands missing. A catastrophe.

She put that in perspective with her own good fortune.

“I have five children and 12 grandchildren including my grandson, John, who is on the stage playing the drums,” she said pointing to John Matlosz who was on stage with the award winning band, The Shadows – all students of Holy Innocents School.

“When I left the Philippines after the storm, I emptied my pockets to help. I’m here tonight to help. My God,” she said, “It is not easy.”

Among the creative ways the Filipino community is working to raise funds was a garage sale on Dec. 1, the First Sunday of Advent, in St. Dorothea Parish, Eatontown. Donations collected at the annual Simbang Gabi hosted by Sacred Heart Parish, Mount Holly, will also be earmarked for aid to the Philippines.

Organizers working to set up the garage sale in St. Dorothea School said they thought it was a good way for everyone to contribute.

“We felt for the people affected,” said Erica Gonzales. “We wanted to help out and we thought the garage sale wouldn’t be so hard on people, many of whom are struggling through hard economic times themselves.”

Gonzales noted that many people were also bringing in clothing which will be shipped to the Philippines courtesy of Alpha Cargo, a nationwide firm established and working with the Filipino community since 1993.

She noted that the organizers, who include the Filipino-American Society of Monmouth County and the Jersey Shore and the Servants of the Lord Prayer Group from St. Dorothea Parish, are already planning another fundraiser in January.

“Family and friends are all working together and will continue to work together to help their loved ones and those stricken by Haiyan,” added Jhun  Allanigae, who leads the prayer group.

Many prayers have been directed to the Philippines in the Mount Holly area since the storm struck and funds will follow when the nine-Mass Simbang Gabi that precedes Christmas draws to a close, said Lina Sumanga.

Sumanga, a member of Sacred Heart Parish, said “everyone in the Filipino-American community knows people whose families were impacted. The stories that have filtered back are heartbreaking, she said.

And so, a portion of the funds from the collections of the nine Masses, which begin on Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m., will be sent to the Philippines to help in the relief effort. “Everyone will want to contribute.”