Help for the victims in Asia

[Pellaken]

I just might start regularly donating some money.

I dont have much right now, but if I graduate I should make 6 figures. I'll try to always donate at least 1% of my income to chairty. for 250,000 a year, that's 2,500 dollars!

 

[Hitro]

It's a very good thing you're doing, but this seems very typical. Loads of people are in similar situations or worse every day, but since the media coverage/closeness isn't as big, the charity to help them isn't very big either. Often some groups get an unproportionate amount of help when it comes to charity, not because they need it less, but because people care less.

Also, the "best" way to donate money is usually by doing it on a regular basis and through the bank, like KittenOfChaos. The money can be used a lot more efficiently that way.

Good post. That's exactly how I think about it and how I subsequently act (or not).

 

[Hakim]

Too much like bragging to answer this question, don't you think? "I gave $200. Oh, but I gave $300, I win!" Maybe it's just my traditional WASP background, but I believe that charity is like prayer -- keep it to yourself.

I share this opinion.

 

[Pellaken]

the answer is not to brag, that's not the reason for this thread.

the reason for this thead is for everyone to simpally say "I donated" and to have SO many people to do (I dream that this thread becomes the longest in CFC history) that it puts peer pressure on those who can donate, but have yet to do so.

this is not about you or me

this is about the victems.

 

[Hitro]

that it puts peer pressure on those who can donate, but have yet to do so

Why should I pressure people into doing something for charity? How charitable would that be? Besides that hat's what taxes are for...

 

[Pellaken]

dont make excuses - make donations!!

 

[Marla_Singer]

I will work from this week end at the crisis cell of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to answer to the families calling for their disappeared.

 

[Keirador]

I have searched high and low, but to no avail. What's UNICEF stand for? I'm thinking of giving them more money.

 

[Renata]

Something along the lines of United Nations International Childrens' Emergency Fund. It's oriented towards children, in other words. Other than that, I know little about them that I didn't hear in the commercials they used to run when I was a kid.

Renata

 

[philippe]

i have done my share,but i am better in motivating others to donate.so i did!

 

[EzInKy]

Though I did make an extra donation to the Red Cross, I agree with those who are reminding others there are always unmet needs that are far less publicised. My employer, like many others in the US, has a program set up where I donate a portion of my earnings from my regular paychecks.

 

[GodsPetMonkey]

I'm not planning on making any donations, but I'm going to Bangkok on Tuesday, and I was thinking I maybe should bring something to give there locally for them to use. Any suggestions to what they might need? I read the highest priority is water, food, medicines and blankets. But what will people need in a week or so? Same thing? Money? Clothes? I think tourists will get whatever they need financially from respective government, but I doubt the locals are as lucky, and once most tourists are gone from there, western interest in it will die away and locals are left with absolutely nothing.

Most of the stuff that would be useful now may be hard to get through customs.

Having just gotten back from the region yesterday, last I saw they are still using hand tools to dig through the rubble, and some of the people (mainly natives to the area) have been working with little rest since it was safe to do so, what they really need is more people helping them, something that all the money in the world wont fix.

If you do decide to lend a hand, pack something to help with the smell (maybe a gas-mask), its horrible.

 

[HamaticBabylon]

I will work from this week end at the crisis cell of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to answer to the families calling for their disappeared.

I was working for a call center, to help the British Families, at the beginning of the disaster...listing to their distressed voices made me really sad as well.

 

[funxus]

Most of the stuff that would be useful now may be hard to get through customs.

Having just gotten back from the region yesterday, last I saw they are still using hand tools to dig through the rubble, and some of the people (mainly natives to the area) have been working with little rest since it was safe to do so, what they really need is more people helping them, something that all the money in the world wont fix.

If you do decide to lend a hand, pack something to help with the smell (maybe a gas-mask), its horrible.

I'm going to collect all clothes we're not using here at home in a box and bring to Bangkok, any suggestions to where I should bring it? I'll probably go to the Swedish Church in Bangkok and see what they say. Don't know how needed it is, but hopefully someone can make better use for it than my wardrobe.

Gasmask is a good idea, I'll see if I can find something. The first 6 weeks I will be spending with my travel companion traveling around the SE-Asia, but once we separate in middle of february I'll see if I can volunteer for a month or so. Unfortunately I know this is the time when help is needed the most though.

 

[GodsPetMonkey]

There are aid organisations all over the place, and plenty of locals have donated alot of stuff as well, just look for a red cross office, they are pretty involved on the ground in the affected areas (and have been since Monday). Churches are a good idea, embassies too, there were teams of people from several european countries wondering arround helping where they could (particularly germans), you may find some of them too, but I don't know if any would be in Bangkok.

If you wanted to, you could try to get there in person, but I expect the roads are still packed (whats left of them anyway) and the authorities are asking people who arent helping with the cleanup to leave, everyone knows that no one will be pulled out alive now, and many of the tourists still hanging arround for news on loved ones are just clogging up everything else. There was no point in hanging arround (and thats why I left). They are desperate for people to help, but there is (or was) very little in the way of organisation, and as could be expected, it was taking forever for all that money donated by various countries to filter through, and it seems to take forever for governments to move people in (why is why I scratch my head when they are all running arround trying to outdo each other by pledging more and more money and people, whilst none of it is actually where its needed).

I should think it will be MONTHS before its all cleared up, pictures on TV show what the worst of it looks like, but when you consider it goes on for miles and miles, you realise its going to be a long time before things start to look normal. I still cant believe that alot of tourists decided to stay and celebrate new years there.... actually, I can't work out where on the coast they did, I know they tried to clear some patches of beach of rubble in preperation of it, but I still can't comprehend it... if you wanted to stay out the rest of your holiday, why not goto bangkok? or the east coast... crazy.

 

[AVN]

I just read that the 9 million Swedish citizens have given 400 million Crowns = 44,3 million Euros = 60 million Dollars (as the result of a TV charity progam) for the victims of the tsunami.

I can only applaud that

 

[classical_hero]

I gave double the amount that what I had said in my earlier post. I gave the money through my church.

 

[AVN]

Today we had a national action day (on TV and radio) for the victims of the tsunami.

The result is 112 million Euros (=147 million US $).

This result is a record.

 

[Rik Meleet]

147 million US $ in 1 day for a country of 16 million people.
I was amazed when I saw the end-result.

 

[Drewcifer]

Too much like bragging to answer this question, don't you think? "I gave $200. Oh, but I gave $300, I win!" Maybe it's just my traditional WASP background, but I believe that charity is like prayer -- keep it to yourself.

Renata

Apparently I can't just quote this. 10987654321