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SE Asia quake and relief efforts... and some ways to help.
Three days after the SE Asia quake and tsunamis...
*sigh* I wish... I worry, sometimes, that I don't FEEL things, and it troubles me immensely that I've been reading articles on the pain and horror people are going through without crying. Not that I don't feel anything, but I'm just quietly grim. My usual reaction to a major world disaster is to start gathering and disseminating info around online communities where I'm active, in order to kill rumors, inform people, and let them know ways they can help if they want to.
The first thing I found when I logged in was the news about the Sumatra earthquake. I don't have much time to myself at my parents', but I've been watching with grim sadness as the news unfolds -- and for the first 24 hours was waiting tensely for online acquaintances to report in. We've accounted for all but two of our active Indian/Thai members now. Some of them have lost relatives. One friend of mine had parents vacationing in Sri Lanka, but she heard from them after two days.
A lot of people post threads to pray for the dead, or the living. My attitude is that prayer is all well and good, but there are other more proactive things we can do... and that the more everyone does a little bit, the more help total there will be. Millions of people have been affected. It will take billions of us to help them. One thing that's promising is that bloggers are setting up websites to track and aid relief efforts at the local level (e.g. youth groups and temples sending help from inland India to the coast) to supplement the big, mega-organizations that do what they can but are hampered by bureacracy and logistics.
I recommend taking a look at The Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Relief efforts blog page which is attempting to help coordinate and disseminate info on relief efforts large and small.
After scouring news reports to find out what relief organizations are already in the afflicted areas with people on hand to start the relief efforts immediately, and/or which provide vital services and generally use donations efficiently, Mom and I have donated what we could to Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, and Worldvision. It's going to take a lot of longterm aid as well as short-term emergency relief. The scariest bit is getting clean water, food, and medicine in to prevent disease and hunger (those agencies all seemed to be making that a priority) plus just getting into some areas that are hard to reach.
I found the following on the BBC website.
Asian disaster: How to help
Global aid organisations have launched urgent appeals for donations to help survivors of Sunday's Indian Ocean earthquake disaster.
Nearly 80,000 people are confirmed killed by the waves and millions more are homeless.
Many governments and organisations - including the US, Canada, Australia, the EU and the UN - are sending aid.
The UN has warned that supplies are urgently needed to support the survivors and to try and prevent disease which, it says, could double the death toll.
The Disasters Emergency Committee - www.dec.org.uk - is an umbrella group of UK aid organisations - including ActionAid, British Red Cross, Oxfam - working to provide clean water, food and shelter to thousands.
The United Nations World Food Programme -www.wfp.org - is seeking donations to feed victims of the earthquake.
Medecins Sans Frontieres - www.msf.org - is sending aid workers to the region, focusing on medical care for survivors and displaced people after the rescue operations.
Oxfam - www.oxfam.org.uk - is providing emergency supplies, including water tanks, pumps, taps and temporary toilets for families left homeless by the floods. The charity raised £600,000 in the three days after the disaster, including £200,000 on Tuesday - the most it has raised in one day.
Islamic Relief - www.islamic-relief.com - has also launched an appeal to provide medical supplies, tents and sanitation facilities for those affected.
The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef - www.unicef.org - is working to meet the "urgent needs of hundreds of thousands of people" affected by the tsunami disaster.
Save the Children - www.savethechildren.org.uk - has already flown a plane out to Sri Lanka carrying plastic sheeting for temporary shelter, tents to run children's services from, and essentials such as clothing and cooking utensils.
Anti-poverty organisation Care International - www.care.org - has already provided food for thousands of affected people in Sri Lanka.
Cafod, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development -www.cafod.org.uk - is working with partners across Asia to provide shelter, food aid and medical assistance, and assessing what further relief is needed.
The Islamic Aid Emergency Relief Fund - www.islamicaid.org.uk - aims to provide immediate relief and long-term support to people in the affected areas.
Another Islamic charity, Muslim Hands - www.muslimhands.org - is collecting money and sending volunteers to help in Indonesia and Malaysia.
UK residents can donate via the British Red Cross - www.redcross.org.uk - which has launched an appeal to fund supplies including blankets and cooking utensils.
Medair - www.medair.org - is providing emergency support to agencies with a long term presence in Sri Lanka and its medical experts are assessing the likelihood of malaria and diarrhoea.
World Vision - www.worldvision.org.uk - has also launched an appeal and has already delivered relief goods to thousands.
Christian Aid - www.christianaid.org.uk - has already allocated £250,000 from its emergency fund to help the victims of this disaster but says more money is needed.
Christian charity Tearfund -www.tearfund.org - and its partners in Sri Lanka and India are helping devastated fishing communities and coastal villages get back on their feet.
Concern - www.concern.net - is working with local partners to meet the needs of families in the devastated coastal villages of Tamil Nadu, the worst affected state in India.
The International Rescue Committee - www.theirc.org - is providing emergency supplies and materials to "people most affected by the crisis".
The Salvation Army - www.salvationarmy.org.uk has local teams working in a number of affected areas and is sending a team from its international headquarters on Wednesday evening.
Muslim Aid - www.muslimaid.org - has already donated £100,000 towards the purchase of food, clothing and medicine in the region but wants to raise more.
Asia Quake Relief Appeal UK, a UK-based Sri Lankan organisation, is also raising money and can be emailed at asia-quakerelief@europe.com
You can donate to all the campaigns via their websites.
~ from BBC news website, 12/29/04
*sigh* I wish... I worry, sometimes, that I don't FEEL things, and it troubles me immensely that I've been reading articles on the pain and horror people are going through without crying. Not that I don't feel anything, but I'm just quietly grim. My usual reaction to a major world disaster is to start gathering and disseminating info around online communities where I'm active, in order to kill rumors, inform people, and let them know ways they can help if they want to.
The first thing I found when I logged in was the news about the Sumatra earthquake. I don't have much time to myself at my parents', but I've been watching with grim sadness as the news unfolds -- and for the first 24 hours was waiting tensely for online acquaintances to report in. We've accounted for all but two of our active Indian/Thai members now. Some of them have lost relatives. One friend of mine had parents vacationing in Sri Lanka, but she heard from them after two days.
A lot of people post threads to pray for the dead, or the living. My attitude is that prayer is all well and good, but there are other more proactive things we can do... and that the more everyone does a little bit, the more help total there will be. Millions of people have been affected. It will take billions of us to help them. One thing that's promising is that bloggers are setting up websites to track and aid relief efforts at the local level (e.g. youth groups and temples sending help from inland India to the coast) to supplement the big, mega-organizations that do what they can but are hampered by bureacracy and logistics.
I recommend taking a look at The Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Relief efforts blog page which is attempting to help coordinate and disseminate info on relief efforts large and small.
After scouring news reports to find out what relief organizations are already in the afflicted areas with people on hand to start the relief efforts immediately, and/or which provide vital services and generally use donations efficiently, Mom and I have donated what we could to Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, and Worldvision. It's going to take a lot of longterm aid as well as short-term emergency relief. The scariest bit is getting clean water, food, and medicine in to prevent disease and hunger (those agencies all seemed to be making that a priority) plus just getting into some areas that are hard to reach.
I found the following on the BBC website.
Asian disaster: How to help
Global aid organisations have launched urgent appeals for donations to help survivors of Sunday's Indian Ocean earthquake disaster.
Nearly 80,000 people are confirmed killed by the waves and millions more are homeless.
Many governments and organisations - including the US, Canada, Australia, the EU and the UN - are sending aid.
The UN has warned that supplies are urgently needed to support the survivors and to try and prevent disease which, it says, could double the death toll.
The Disasters Emergency Committee - www.dec.org.uk - is an umbrella group of UK aid organisations - including ActionAid, British Red Cross, Oxfam - working to provide clean water, food and shelter to thousands.
The United Nations World Food Programme -www.wfp.org - is seeking donations to feed victims of the earthquake.
Medecins Sans Frontieres - www.msf.org - is sending aid workers to the region, focusing on medical care for survivors and displaced people after the rescue operations.
Oxfam - www.oxfam.org.uk - is providing emergency supplies, including water tanks, pumps, taps and temporary toilets for families left homeless by the floods. The charity raised £600,000 in the three days after the disaster, including £200,000 on Tuesday - the most it has raised in one day.
Islamic Relief - www.islamic-relief.com - has also launched an appeal to provide medical supplies, tents and sanitation facilities for those affected.
The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef - www.unicef.org - is working to meet the "urgent needs of hundreds of thousands of people" affected by the tsunami disaster.
Save the Children - www.savethechildren.org.uk - has already flown a plane out to Sri Lanka carrying plastic sheeting for temporary shelter, tents to run children's services from, and essentials such as clothing and cooking utensils.
Anti-poverty organisation Care International - www.care.org - has already provided food for thousands of affected people in Sri Lanka.
Cafod, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development -www.cafod.org.uk - is working with partners across Asia to provide shelter, food aid and medical assistance, and assessing what further relief is needed.
The Islamic Aid Emergency Relief Fund - www.islamicaid.org.uk - aims to provide immediate relief and long-term support to people in the affected areas.
Another Islamic charity, Muslim Hands - www.muslimhands.org - is collecting money and sending volunteers to help in Indonesia and Malaysia.
UK residents can donate via the British Red Cross - www.redcross.org.uk - which has launched an appeal to fund supplies including blankets and cooking utensils.
Medair - www.medair.org - is providing emergency support to agencies with a long term presence in Sri Lanka and its medical experts are assessing the likelihood of malaria and diarrhoea.
World Vision - www.worldvision.org.uk - has also launched an appeal and has already delivered relief goods to thousands.
Christian Aid - www.christianaid.org.uk - has already allocated £250,000 from its emergency fund to help the victims of this disaster but says more money is needed.
Christian charity Tearfund -www.tearfund.org - and its partners in Sri Lanka and India are helping devastated fishing communities and coastal villages get back on their feet.
Concern - www.concern.net - is working with local partners to meet the needs of families in the devastated coastal villages of Tamil Nadu, the worst affected state in India.
The International Rescue Committee - www.theirc.org - is providing emergency supplies and materials to "people most affected by the crisis".
The Salvation Army - www.salvationarmy.org.uk has local teams working in a number of affected areas and is sending a team from its international headquarters on Wednesday evening.
Muslim Aid - www.muslimaid.org - has already donated £100,000 towards the purchase of food, clothing and medicine in the region but wants to raise more.
Asia Quake Relief Appeal UK, a UK-based Sri Lankan organisation, is also raising money and can be emailed at asia-quakerelief@europe.com
You can donate to all the campaigns via their websites.
~ from BBC news website, 12/29/04