By Graham K. Rogers

With the recent disastrous weather conditions in the Philippines caused by Typhoon Bopha, the amount of damage to the infrastructure, over and above the numbers of killed, injured and missing, means that a concerted effort will need to be made by local and international communities to help the population return to any semblance of normality.

Epson Corporation - Epson Precision (Philippines) Inc., Philippine Epson Optical Inc., Epson Philippines Corporation and Seiko Epson Corporation - have donated Php 1 million (about $24,400). Epson report that the money was donated through Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), a local NPO.

The press release from Epson adds that employees from the three local Epson companies will cooperate with PBSP in the distribution of relief goods to the affected areas.

The company ends by adding, "Epson wishes to extend its sympathy to the affected families, and hopes for the speedy recovery of the areas damaged by the disaster."

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.