Indonesia - Samoa.

[sepdet]

I donated to Oxfam after the Boxing Day tsunami, because they already had people/supplies on the ground -- in some of the news coverage I saw that they were already there, and they had a very organized operation going distributing tarps, clothes, medical supplies, water tablets, etc.

I'm not being as thorough this time, but a quick check suggests they're already working in Samoa and Sumatra.

Basically, they get the supplies in position before a disaster and count on donors to pay for restocking.

No Paypal, but they take secure online credit card donations. I'm gonna drop another hundred on 'em.

There's so many different things around the world that need to be dealt with -- I should probably be looking for and donating to something obscure instead. (On the other hand that's what my Kiva and Heifer.org donations are for.)

So, anyway, if you feel like chipping in, there's one possibility.

Comments

[trekqueen.livejournal.com]

that's very kind of you!

I just dropped off five big trash bags of clothes to the local goodwill just last week. :\ Wish I still had them to send off to the islands. We just finished up a huge United Way campaign here at work too.

I saw a thing last night on the local 11 Fox news about some of the churches and local Samoan groups putting together items and supplies to send but we thought we heard the lady wrong that it wasn't going to be sent until late October. We were like... what? Don't they need this stuff NOW? O.o

[sepdet.livejournal.com]

Generally, sending physical donations like clothes to a far-off disaster-hit region is impractical. The logistics of getting the stuff across the ocean and into hard-hit areas... it's expensive, it takes weeks. You have to gather the stuff, get people who are willing to volunteer transport and time to get the stuff there, distribute, etc.

That takes forever.

Whereas aid agencies like Oxfam operate under the strategy of having local regional teams in vulnerable areas, ready to go when one of these things hits, and they've stockpiled nonperishables that they already know are the sorts of things needed in these situations: tarps, medicines, water, water purification tablets, meals ready to eat (adapted to local tastes). They can be out and start distributing aid within a day or a few days when the roads are cut. They know what they need, and they know what works and what doesn't.

What THEY need is money, to restock and resupply after one of these disasters so they're ready for the next. It's a much more proactive approach.

One other good thing about supporting relief agencies with money instead of trying to bundle up your stuff and send it overseas: Oxfam and Worldvision and other agencies like that buy clothing and food from local merchants. So they help the region get back on its feet by supporting local businesses.

On the other hand, donations to Goodwill and various local relief agencies are great for supporting Americans in need. Some of those who are in trouble get low-paying jobs helping sort through, clean, and prepare items for distribution at thrift stores. Also, some relief organizations use donations in electronics to help with job retraining: I know that there's one center near my parents house where they ask for you to drop off broken phones, TVs and other electronics, and they use them for vocational training and practice.