Press release: Göttingen University supports victims of natural disaster on the Philippines

Nr. 223/2013 - 15.11.2013

Partner university's campus seriously destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan – direct aid for students in need

(pug) In the wake of the natural disaster on the Philippines, Göttingen University would like to help stricken Philippine students and their families by launching an aid appeal. Göttingen's partner university on Leyte Island, Visayas State University (VSU), was hit hard by Typhoon Haiyan: Students and faculty have lost loved ones or are currently homeless. Since the transmission masts and telephone lines have been knocked down and many regions are without electricity, the Philippine students in Göttingen currently have no or only irregular contact with home. The dedicated aid from Göttingen is being organised by the association "Georgia Augusta International".

"We are deeply distraught in the face of this terrible disaster on the Philippines. The typhoon has devastated whole countrysides and extreme numbers of people are desperate. Our hearts go out to those affected,“ Professor Hiltraud Casper-Hehne, Göttingen University's Vice President of International Affairs, expresses her condolences. "Numerous buildings, including concrete structures, have been damaged at the five sites of Visayas State University, our partner university. The campus has been completely destroyed and all operations shut down. Many young people have lost their families. Therefore, we appeal to everyone who is able to help fund relief efforts at our partner university.“ The donations from the aid campaign shall be deployed directly, in particular, to support students on the Philippines. By setting up emergency aid scholarships, Göttingen University wants to provide relief, especially to those young men and women at its partner university who have lost family members.

An initial meeting has taken place between Philippine students, researchers and scholars living in Göttingen and representatives of the University's Presidential Board and International Office. "There are currently nine students and academics from the Philippines living in Göttingen,“ informs Professor Casper-Hehne. "Several of them are affected directly by the disaster. Many currently cannot contact their families and friends. They don't even know whether they have survived or not. We want to help them take up contact with their towns as soon as possible and if possible organise and sponsor flights back home. We want to provide bridge scholarships to Philippine students to cover financial emergencies.“

Years of partnership bind the two universities of Göttingen and Visayas State. VSU's College of Forestry and Environmental Science has been working with Göttingen's Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology in teaching and research for more than 10 years. Many VSU graduates come to Göttingen to get their Master's or doctoral degrees. Göttingen students regularly organise student projects at VSU, the last one was in November 2012 when a group of 20 students in the Master's degree programme was hosted on the Philippines. Last year, VSU honoured its Göttingen partner faculty with the Sandigan Award for their long-term collaboration. Three years ago, VSU also became a permanent partner of the Göttingen-coordinated exchange project within the programme “Erasmus Mundus Action 2”.

Göttingen University hopes that its aid campaign will be strongly supported by the whole region of southern Lower Saxony. Georgia Augusta International aims to ensure that all donations directly benefit those affected. Donations can be made directly to the emergency aid fund at the Sparkasse Göttingen – account number 15 1000 19, bank routing code 260 500 01 – please state "Nothilfe Philippinen" when making donations. For more information, go to www.uni-goettingen.de/en/209753.html.

Contact address:
Professor Hiltraud Casper-Hehne
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Vice President for International Affairs
Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073 Göttingen; phone: +49 (0)551 39-4320
E-mail: hiltraud.casper-hehne@zvw.uni-goettingen.de
Website: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/110984.html