YGG Pilipinas: Typhoon Odette PH Relief Efforts Updates
Last December 16, 2021, Typhoon Odette (international name Rai) devastated major parts of the Central Visayas region of the Philippines, affecting an estimated 9 million people with over 325,000 still displaced according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). The catastrophic tropical cyclone resulted in 409 fatalities and the destruction of homes, livelihoods and crops just before Christmas.
A day after Odette hit the Philippines, YGG Pilipinas announced relief operations to gather funds for those affected by the typhoon. On the day of the relief efforts announcement, YGG Pilipinas immediately raised PHP 6 million (US$110,000) in SLP, AXS, ETH, WETH and USDC.
With this initiative, individual players, game partners, and the rest of the Web3 and play-to-earn community showed a united front in providing aid. As of February 1, 2022, YGG Pilipinas has raised US$1.45 million.
Jec, an Axie Infinity player based in the Philippines, shares, “I donated a little bit of Ethereum because I saw YGG’s post about the relief operations. I thought to myself, ‘Even if I am not a YGG member, I should help out and support their relief initiative even if it is just a small donation.’”
“We spent a good part of this year learning, growing, and building together. As we work together to help our brothers and sisters in the Philippines recover and rebuild, we remember that this is what our community is about,” said Jeffrey Zirlin, also known as Jihoz, co-founder of Axie Infinity who also donated to the relief operations.
Players of play-to-earn game DeFi Kingdoms (DFK) raised a vote to donate to YGG’s efforts, which was then matched by the DFK team, resulting in a US$750,000 donation. “The DeFi Kingdoms community really came together in a big way to send relief funds to our brothers and sisters in the Philippines who were impacted by Typhoon Odette,” said Frisky Fox, CEO of DFK. “We look forward to more opportunities to work hand in hand with YGG to help communities from all walks of life.”
Led by YGG Pilipinas Country Manager Luis Buenaventura, the team has turned over almost PHP 51 million (US$992,000) worth of medicines, diapers, potable water, canned goods, biscuits, coffee, solar lights, power generators and cash donations to the Philippine Army and Navy, as well as non-profit organizations, to support typhoon-affected communities in Leyte, Cebu, Siargao, Surigao, Bohol, Negros, and Dinagat Island, Tigbauan, and Palawan, among others.
“YGG has helped a lot during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette by supporting Axies Alerts PH’s (AAPH) relief operation and providing immediate relief such as food, and drinking water just a few days after the typhoon hit, which benefited several areas in Cebu, Negros, Bohol and Leyte,” said Brylle Uytiepo, founder of AAPH, a community of Axie Infinity players. “We are thankful for their contribution to the local communities,” he added.
YGG Pilipinas has partnered with several relief and community rebuilding operations such as:
- World Vision
- Philippine Army and Navy
- UN World Food Programme
- Ramon Aboitiz Foundation
- Accord
- Victory Christian Fellowship
- Waves for Water
- Axies Alerts
- Southern Leyte Relief
- Siargao Medical Mission
- Bangon Bohol
- Save Palawan Seas Foundation Inc.
- Lucky Panda Arcade
- Tabangay Ta
- Atlas Solar Lights
- Pilar Medical Mission
- Siarguild
- The Raya Clinic
- El Nido Community Kitchen
- Ahon Siargao
- Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation
- Lamave Institute
- CryptoAyuda Program
The full transparency report as of January 27, 2022, can be found here.
A cash aid project called Crypto Ayuda was also initiated, where PHP 10,000 (US$ 195) cash aid was sent to selected individuals who applied for relief assistance. As of date, over 3,131 individuals have received cash aid.
“We’ve supported professional organizations, small community efforts, and given individual cash aids,” said Luis Buenaventura. “As this is one of our first big projects out of the Metaverse, we are grateful to have the community and partners that helped us bring aid to Filipinos during this challenging time.”
An estimated PHP 23 million (US$458,000) is yet to be deployed as funds continue to be donated by our community. The full record of fund allocation can be found here.
“YGG DAO as a conduit to the community and Metaverse at large with loyal members around the Philippines and the world. The Typhoon Odette relief showed that a Web3 gaming guild can mount a campaign with transparency and efficiency, and can work with traditional groups such as the Philippine Navy and Army, and international programs like the World Food Programme and World Vision.” Gabby Dizon, co-founder of YGG. “This is our testimony that we are more than just a community of gamers.” he adds.
YGG continues to deploy the funds received from the community. To see updates from YGG Pilipinas, please like the YGG Pilipinas Facebook page. A full transparency report will be published once all funds have been deployed.
Below are the YGG Pilipinas Wallet addresses if you wish to support our relief efforts.
- YGG ERC-20 Wallet: yggph.eth
- YGG Pilipinas Ronin Wallet: ronin:bf298227e40c55f5d5a85e5aecc61c622f4b20ac
For the purpose of this article, US$1 = PHP 51.30.
To learn more about Yield Guild, read the YGG whitepaper here. Join the YGG Discord or follow us on Twitter for future updates.
