Earthquake/Tsunami Relief: How to help (hint: cash)
Category: News Commentary...
Posted Tuesday, December 28, 2004 at 06:06 PM [GMT-6]

There are many resources around the net providing information about how we can be a part of the massive assistance needed to help the victims of the Asian disaster.

From a blogging perspective, The Command Post has one of the most comprehensive lists. USAID also has a very good website devoted to the relief efforts, along with updates of the current status of the situation. This page provides a list of relief agencies currently accepting donations.

If you want to get involved, cash is king. As USAID puts it:

USAID encourages cash donations because they: allow aid professionals to procure the exact items needed (often in the affected region); reduce the burden on scarce resources (such as transportation routes, staff time, warehouse space, etc); can be transferred very quickly and without transportation costs; support the economy of the disaster-stricken region; ensure culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate assistance.

For some real life examples of why non-cash aid is often not appropriate, take a look at some of the articles linked on the Center for International Disaster Information's website. CIDI also provides some clear and concise guidelines for effective donations.

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Comments

Eric, another offering we could make along with the cash ... that would be to, "Pray for Southeast Asians," as one astute resident of the blogosphere reminded us a couple of days ago.

Posted by: Jeff at December 29, 2004 08:59 AM
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