Typhoon Haiyan approaching the Philippines, on November 7, 2013. Photo: Google Maps / WikiCommons.

JNS.org – The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), teaming with the Afya Foundation and Catholic Relief Services, is sending medical supplies and food to the Philippines to assist victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the country earlier this week and has reportedly caused more than 10,000 deaths.

In a partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), JDC is providing “School in a Box” kits, to be used for teaching displaced children.

“While unprecedented challenges unfold on the ground in the Philippines, it’s imperative that the global Jewish community support efforts to aid the Filipino people in their time of need,” Alan H. Gill, JDC’s CEO, told JNS.org.

“JDC and the State of Israel are proudly at the forefront of that response, ever mindful of our moral obligation to save those in danger. Additionally, JDC is driven by the debt of gratitude we owe to the Philippines which heroically saved more than 1,000 Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis during World War II,” he said.

JDC is also supplying equipment to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) field hospital in the Phillipines when the hospital is set up. The 148-member IDF Medical and Rescue Response Team, which is being coordinated by Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center, departed Israel for the Philippines on Tuesday.

“Our doctors and nurses constantly prepare for all types of disasters—both civilian and military—and it is encouraging that this training will enable us to assist the people of the Philippines in this tragic time of need,” Professor Jonathan Halevy—director general of Shaare Zedek, which sent four doctors to the Philippines—said in a statement.