Gamers banded together to aid with the relief and reconstruction efforts for the victims of Typhoon Rai, also known as Typhoon Odette, in the Philippines.
The Philippines, a country that was already battling to recover from COVID-19, has been slammed by a devastating super typhoon. On December 16, 2021, the storm made landfall and continued on a four-day rampage, destroying 334 cities and towns.
According to the Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, as of Jan. 1, more than 4 million people have been displaced or injured, with 407 people killed and 88 still missing.
A day after the typhoon hit the country, Yield Guild Games (YGG), a play-to-earn gaming club, initiated a donation drive to assist victims in receiving aid and rebuilding.
The feedback was unanimously positive. Gamers paused and saved in order to contribute. YGG Philippines country manager Luis Buenaventura, who is leading the relief operations, informed that donations had surpassed $1.4 million with the aid of the community.
“Within the first hour we had exceeded $100k, and within the first day, we were at $300k. It’s now been three weeks and donations continue to come in. As of yesterday, we’ve raised over $1.4M purely from community crypto donations,” said Buenaventura.
According to Buenaventura, the monies will be used for relief efforts, with teams on the ground travelling into damaged communities to give food, drinking water, medicine, solar lights, and power generators, as well as rebuilding.
The reconstruction plan includes a direct monetary support scheme in which the team pays fiat directly to affected households.
According to Buenaventura, they were able to reach 1,600 households and have enough resources to reach at least another 3,000. “Although that may sound like a lot, initial estimates indicate that over 55,000 homes were destroyed by the typhoon so we still have a long way to go,” he added.
