Editor’s note: In the wake of the devastating floods caused by typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) in Metro Manila on 26 September 2009, AFE members responded generously to AFE’s appeal for funds to alleviate the suffering, donating a total of P527,248 (about $11,400). AFE passed on P330,915 of this to ADB’s Staff Community Fund (SCF) to assist very poor families in Manila who remained seriously affected by the floodwaters in late 2009 and early 2010. In addition, P196,333 was given to flood-affected AFE members who needed assistance. Gam de Armas, Philippine chapter cwoordinator, and the Philippine Chapter were heavily involved in assisting the AFE members from the start. Gam’s blow-by-blow account gives a very personal sense of the tragedy.