Relief Efforts
With all the aid pouring in, looks like the trouble now is getting enough volunteers to manage all the resources. Contrary to what many might believe, at times of disaster and even during othertimes, the easiest of all tasks is raising money. Especially during such times, people are more than willing to contribute how much ever they can, sometimes even more than they could afford - like my friend in Minneapolis. Hats off to him. But then, the difficult task is managing the aid and getting volunteers so that help reaches the right people at the right time.
There are many organizations out there trying their best to do what best they could possibly do. The problem is, there is no umbrella organization to coordinate the whole effort. One team could possibly go to a village to help them out and it is very possible that another organization also decides to send a team to the same village. Its very likely considering that the call for help from a place reaches multiple people at the same time. Also, there are many places where there are no one to help.
Like the islands of Andaman. There are hardly any contacts there and not enough local volunteers either. Its here the army, the navy and the air force are trying to do their best.
Its great that certain organizations are collaborating in their efforts. To me, it is a great move. Something along these lines need to be done for the long run. Even within the same organization like AID, with so many different chapters and NGOs contacting different chapters, there is a lot of overlap - in the projects we undertake, the mistakes committed and the lessons learnt. So the more coordinated the efforts, the better for the victims, better in terms of number of people helped and better in terms of volunteers not feeling their efforts were not 100% useful at the end of the day.
With so many volunteers on the ground on extremely demanding situations, it is very important that they remain emotionally strong, are not overwhelmed by the task and last but not the least, feel satisfied they did something that helped someone. Volunteers are the backbone of this entire operation and they need to be taken care of. Especially the ones exposed to all the elements. Hats off to them. Its really nice to note that people of all ages and capacity are doing their best. Like the story here about young NCC cadets in Kerala.
Donors are in plenty. So are organizations accepting donations. It is easy for donors to fall prey to fly by night operators. Please refer to the following sources before donating:
http://www.benjaminrosenbaum.com/blog/archives/2004_12.html#000151
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/quake.aidsites/
http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html
These lists are not exhaustive. But plz make sure before making a donation. Also plz check with ur company if they would do a matching donation. That could double the donation with no additional input from you.
There are many organizations out there trying their best to do what best they could possibly do. The problem is, there is no umbrella organization to coordinate the whole effort. One team could possibly go to a village to help them out and it is very possible that another organization also decides to send a team to the same village. Its very likely considering that the call for help from a place reaches multiple people at the same time. Also, there are many places where there are no one to help.
Like the islands of Andaman. There are hardly any contacts there and not enough local volunteers either. Its here the army, the navy and the air force are trying to do their best.
Its great that certain organizations are collaborating in their efforts. To me, it is a great move. Something along these lines need to be done for the long run. Even within the same organization like AID, with so many different chapters and NGOs contacting different chapters, there is a lot of overlap - in the projects we undertake, the mistakes committed and the lessons learnt. So the more coordinated the efforts, the better for the victims, better in terms of number of people helped and better in terms of volunteers not feeling their efforts were not 100% useful at the end of the day.
With so many volunteers on the ground on extremely demanding situations, it is very important that they remain emotionally strong, are not overwhelmed by the task and last but not the least, feel satisfied they did something that helped someone. Volunteers are the backbone of this entire operation and they need to be taken care of. Especially the ones exposed to all the elements. Hats off to them. Its really nice to note that people of all ages and capacity are doing their best. Like the story here about young NCC cadets in Kerala.
Donors are in plenty. So are organizations accepting donations. It is easy for donors to fall prey to fly by night operators. Please refer to the following sources before donating:
http://www.benjaminrosenbaum.com/blog/archives/2004_12.html#000151
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/quake.aidsites/
http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html
These lists are not exhaustive. But plz make sure before making a donation. Also plz check with ur company if they would do a matching donation. That could double the donation with no additional input from you.
posted by d'na | 1:24 AM
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