THE
BEST WAY TO SUPPORT DISASTER RELIEF EFFORTS IN INDONESIA, THE
PHILIPPINES, VIETNAM AND THE SAMOAS
Following several disasters that have hit the Asia-Pacific
region over the past few days, AIP is announcing our top-rated charities
currently providing emergency relief to the region. A typhoon struck
the Philippines on September 26, 2009, before moving on to Vietnam,
Thailand, Cambodia & Laos. The typhoon left at least 400 dead
and hundreds of thousands displaced. Tuesday September 28, an 8.0-magnitude
earthquake hit near American Samoa and Samoa, followed by a tsunami
that left dozens dead and entire villages homeless. On September
29, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit in Indonesia, heavily impacting
Padang, capital of Indonesia's Western Sumatra province. On the
morning of September 30 a second severe earthquake intensified the
damage in Padang. The U.N.'s current death toll estimate for the
Indonesian earthquake is over 1,000 and expected to rise as relief
efforts continue.
All of the above charities perform favorably in relation
to AIP’s benchmarks:
1) A charity should spend at least 60% of its budget on program
services.
2) A charity should spend no more than $35 to raise $100.
Contact your favorite charities to find out if they
provide the specific types of aid that you would like to fund, e.g.,
emergency relief, health care, infrastructure development, education,
etc. AIP recommends giving to organizations that have an on-the-ground
presence in the area in which relief operations are taking place.
DONORS BEWARE
Americans wanting to help people facing humanitarian crises should
send contributions to only those charities with an established track
record of helping people in this region. During a highly publicized
crisis, it is common for disreputable, fly-by-night “charities”
to take advantage of the public’s generosity.
SEND A CHECK, NOT GOODS
The best way to help is by sending a check. Cash donations enable
charities to buy the most needed type of food, medicine, clothing,
shelter materials and other supplies. By buying relief products
locally or regionally, charities can reduce shipping costs and more
rapidly deliver assistance. Before sending any goods, first contact
the charity to find out if they are appropriate and if it will be
cost effective to distribute them. For example, after the tsunami,
boxes of donated winter coats, scarves and fuzzy hats, completely
useless items in tsunami stricken nations with tropical climates,
were sent to these nations.
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