A Filipino English teacher, who I had a brief online English conversation class with many years ago, contacted me via Skype (chat) after a long time.

I wondered what it was about, but it turns out that she originally lived on Leyte Island, and her house was completely destroyed by Typhoon 30 "Haiyan." Her relatives' houses and the surrounding area were also almost completely destroyed. She and her family are in Manila, and her relatives are relying on acquaintances in Manila and Cebu to survive. Many people are missing, and the government is unable to provide any help. She said it was unbelievable that people could live in such a place. She said the evacuation centers were terrible, and she left within a few days. The hygiene conditions were bad, and there were days when there was no food or water. It's one thing if it's just her, but she has a family and children, and even when they need medicine, there's nothing. She said they have lost everything, and they don't have enough clothes. She asked how they could possibly rebuild their lives with nothing.

Well, when you hear stories like this, the first thing you should do is question whether it's true. Since I know her to some extent, I should probably be more suspicious, considering that we haven't been in contact for so many years. But somehow, based on the atmosphere and the way she was talking, I felt that it was probably true, so I decided to send her a small amount via PayPal.

A truly malicious person would probably have various evidence (photos) and excuses prepared, and would present them very smoothly. But she seemed to be in a very agitated state, repeating the same words over and over again.

Well, some people might think I'm being naive.

But, well, it's okay.

It's about 2,000 Philippine pesos, which is about 5,000 yen at the current exchange rate.

It's a small amount in Japanese yen, but for the lower class in the Philippines, it's equivalent to about one to two weeks of earnings, so it should be enough to get by for the time being.