Pinay in Qatar sells her pre-loved clothes to help typhoon victims

A 31-year-old former talent resourcing manager at the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn in Doha, Qatar has sold her pre-loved clothes to raise funds for the victims of Typhoon Ulysses (Vamco) in the Philippines. 

Ulysses left 73 people dead, and displaced at least 727,738 families or 3,052,049 individuals from Regions I, II, III, V, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, NCR, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). It caused over P2.7 billion damage to agriculture, and more than P5 billion to infrastructure.

"I am aware there have been several typhoons recently but this one caught my attention more," said Joan Rachel Posadas-Anunciacion in an interview via Messenger on November 17.

Photo courtesy of Rachel Posadas-Anunciacion

"So I have sold many of my pre-loved clothes to the Filipino community here in Qatar and, in just a day, earned 1,000QAR (P10,000)!" the owner of MySouqki, said. 

Posadas-Anunciacion has clarified: “This is nothing like gimmick. My first fundraising here in Qatar was when I got laid off in June together with several colleagues that I have personally hired.”

But since Posadas-Anunciacion was terminated herself, she just sold her pre-loved clothes, raised around P30,000, and divided it among themselves.

“One Filipino also got stuck in the Philippines while he was on vacation so I sent him P2,000 as well. During the same time, the UP Baguio community was also raising funds for the faculty members so I have donated some as well,” she said.

She also did a fundraising drive for a dog left by her original caretakers who lost their jobs because of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

“My last fundraising was for my foster dog, Brownies. Her parents had been expatriated due to the pandemic, and couldn’t bring the dog with them. Shana, the owner, posted about it online, and I reached out to offer my help. ”

“After my 'foster baby' left, however, I felt a bit depressed but I thought of moving on and try to help somebody again as I know it will give me happiness and a sense of purpose. I thought of selling my pre-loved clothing again and earn at least 5,000QAR for the victims of the Typhoon Ulysses.”

To date, Posadas-Anunciacion has already transferred the 1,000QAR (P10,000) to three groups in the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela.

She also intends “to help a little” for Marikina.

“It’s not that much compared to other fundraising drives since I don’t have pre-loved luxury items to sell. But like I said to my husband, this fundraising has finally given me the reason to start letting go.”

President Rodrigo Duterte has placed the entire Luzon under state of calamity following the onslaught of the typhoons Rolly and Ulysses. —LBG, GMA News