Employee stationed in Philippines helps coordinate typhoon aid for Utah company


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LOGAN — A local business is working to help some of their own employees in the Philippines who were affected by the devastating typhoon that hit the country on Nov 8.

Call Assistant has dozens of employees who are native to the Philippines. Keven Bailey is their one employee from Utah, and he's now living in the Philippines — which puts him in the perfect position to head up relief efforts.

Almost overnight, he went from running a call center to organizing relief for co-workers in need. It soon became clear, he said, that dozens of his employees needed help in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.

"When they came back, they just showed me pictures and everything that had happened to their family; you know, their family's houses, in some cases, were completely gone," Keven Bailey said.

"They don't have any food to eat. They don't have any clean water to drink," he said.


When I've got agents' families who come up and give me a hug and start crying, I can … the little we were able to do, I can see how much it means to them.

–Keven Bailey, Call Assistant employee


Employees in Utah rallied together and donated a portion of their paychecks to relief efforts.

"We just sent the money, and Keven and his family and friends over there did most of the work," said Ashley Smith, an employee at Call Assistant. "There's so many people, and there's so many islands that need help."

It didn't take long before Keven Bailey was out buying supplies, handing them out with his work family.

Back in Logan, his siblings and mother saw the images and videos over Facebook. They were both impressed with the efforts and saddened by the conditions.

"It just broke my heart, and I'm just grateful for what they can do," said Mary Bailey, Keven Bailey's mother.

"It's just raw," said Aubrey Bailey, Keven's sister. "He's just walking down the street with his phone out, looking at what's happening."

While the city of Tacloban has gotten much of the media attention, many of Keven Bailey's employees live in the surrounding areas, which were also hit hard.

But he said he's hopeful more people back home will realize the relief efforts are far from over. There are roughly a hundred employees that Call Assistant is helping in the Philippines. Once they've addressed their needs, Keven Bailey said he hopes to continue to help others.

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