Donate aid to the multitude of Tsunami Survivors

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For those of you who are looking to donate to aid the multitude of Tsunami Survivors, but are unsure of what agency or organization to contact, may I recommend:

directrelief.org/index.html

This organization is already “in the air” with medical supplies and personell, sanitary and hygiene items. They are also focusing on water purification equipment for the survivors. They are sending aid specifically to Sri Lanka and India. Their focus is on items other than food and clothing, as many of the other aid agencies already focus on these staples. I spoke with them by phone this morning (along with several others) and have found them to be professional, organized, and I was pleased to find an organization that was already “in action”.
Many of the aid agencies are still preparing their supplies, while this one is already flying in these supplies.
To donate, you may use your credit card (secure site). To do this, on their home page, to the left, you will see “SUPPORT US”. Once you click this, you will see a page with a link “DONATE NOW”. When making your donation, at the end of the page, in the notes section, be sure to write: “DONATION FOR TSUNAMI SURVIVORS”, so that it will be allocated properly.

Your donation is most likely tax deductible. Check with your tax advisor for more information.

If you prefer another organization, you can visit MSNBC.com where there is a long list of the agencies who will be/are assisting in the aid operations needed so badly right now. Also, Amazon.com has established a fund to gather much needed financial assistance right now. You can donate there quite easily.

Thanks .
Eric

Adding to what Eric has mentioned there is blog (tsunamihelp.blogspot.com) set by some bloggers which also has links to organizations to donate to locally though there is no mention about Taiwan till now

I would also request you guys to start a donation drive in your company or school or restaurant or community. You can also ask your employer to match the contribution made by you and your colleagues, i started one in my company and the response seems good.

Or donate to some of the charities in the article below

etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/Socie … 285364.htm

It does make sense to donate locally if you can, no exchange rate commissions, and the donations are seen coming from Taiwan. I guess they will need things other than money too, food, clothing etc. If enough people are interested in donating, I could maybe arrange a drop off point with Tzu Chi (a pub maybe ?). I will ask my wife (a Tzu Chi member) if there is anything we can do. If anyone’s interested ? Tzu Chi will be also be having collections on the street. I will let you know where and when when I know.

M wife was thinking about Tzu Chi too.

It maybe true that less of your donation will be sucked up as overheads.

I’ll try and get some info on how to donate to them.

Brian

[quote=“Dirty Dan”]Or donate to some of the charities in the article below

etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/Socie … 285364.htm[/quote]

You know it is interesting…

I assume Taiwan sends a lot more money to the banana republics (its diplomatic allies) than it is contributing to this relief effort

Not to sound oppurtunistic or trying to use a terrible situation for some gain… but would Taiwan not do alot more for its image if it donated alot of that money it has set aside for its diplomatic allies and put it into helping the victims of this?

Every report I’ve read has said relief agencies want one thing and one thing alone: money. They can buy exactly what they need, and it reduces transportation costs. Some reports are even saying that donated goods (food, blankets, etc) can impede relief efforts, though I’m not sure how that would happen.

I donated to Doctors without Borders, since I’m familiar with their work and they’re already on the ground in the affected areas. I’m also very concerned about the epidemic risk to the local people.

Here’s the link again to a list of CNN sites.

cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/1 … index.html

Chi Tzu Buddhist foundation contact number: 2518 - 0269

Subject: ci-ji foundation warns about con-men
Broadcast Date: 12/29/04 at 10AM, 4PM, and 7PM
Return to Table of contents

TAIWAN’S CI-JI BUDDHIST CHARITY IS WARNING AGAINST CON-MEN.

THE CHARITY SAYS ITS RECEIVED REPORTS OF PEOPLE PRETENDING
TO BE CI-JI WORKERS… ASKING FOR DONATIONS FROM PASSERSBY
FOR TSUNAMI FLOOD VICTIMS.

THE CHARITY SAYS DUE TO GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS… IT DOES NOT
NORMALLY SOLICIT CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PEOPLE ON THE STREET.

CI-JI SAYS LEGITIMATE CONTRIBUTIONS CAN BE MADE THROUGH THE
CHARITY’S LOCAL OFFICES… OR ITS POST OFFICE ACCOUNT.

[quote=“TNT”]I assume Taiwan sends a lot more money to the banana republics (its diplomatic allies) than it is contributing to this relief effort

Not to sound oppurtunistic or trying to use a terrible situation for some gain… but would Taiwan not do alot more for its image if it donated alot of that money it has set aside for its diplomatic allies and put it into helping the victims of this?[/quote]They’ve send a paltry $250,000 (the same as the charity Christian Aid) while the US government has sent $35,000,000, and the UK government $30,000,000

[quote=“Big Fluffy Matthew”][quote=“TNT”]I assume Taiwan sends a lot more money to the banana republics (its diplomatic allies) than it is contributing to this relief effort

Not to sound oppurtunistic or trying to use a terrible situation for some gain… but would Taiwan not do alot more for its image if it donated alot of that money it has set aside for its diplomatic allies and put it into helping the victims of this?[/quote]They’ve send a paltry $250,000 (the same as the charity Christian Aid) while the US government has sent $35,000,000, and the UK government $30,000,000[/quote]
Which tells me, at least, that Taiwan’s international image – or lack thereof – is richly deserved.

I guess Sri Lanka doesn’t need too much help. :unamused:

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4130599.stm

[quote]Which tells me, at least, that Taiwan’s international image – or lack thereof – is richly deserved.
[/quote]
Some might argue, Taiwan giving money to anyone besides themselves is a sign of progress.

[quote=“Big Fluffy Matthew”][quote=“TNT”]I assume Taiwan sends a lot more money to the banana republics (its diplomatic allies) than it is contributing to this relief effort

Not to sound oppurtunistic or trying to use a terrible situation for some gain… but would Taiwan not do alot more for its image if it donated alot of that money it has set aside for its diplomatic allies and put it into helping the victims of this?[/quote]They’ve send a paltry $250,000 (the same as the charity Christian Aid) while the US government has sent $35,000,000, and the UK government $30,000,000[/quote]

Of course these facts from the CIA factbook shouldn’t have any bearing (and I believe Taiwan is upping it’s donation to US$5 million)…
The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $37,800.

purchasing power parity - $10.99 trillion (2004 est.)
purchasing power parity - $37,800 (2004 est.)
UK
purchasing power parity - $1.666 trillion (2004 est.)
purchasing power parity - $27,700 (2004 est.)
Taiwan
purchasing power parity - $528.6 billion (2004 est.)
purchasing power parity - $23,400 (2004 est.)

I never did like charities that specified what to donate or how much you should be giving…kinda like a homeless person saying ‘no thanks for the warm new coat on a cold winter’s night just give me 1% of your income for this week and I’ll buy what I need.’ Of course with most of this devastated countries having such honest and incorruptable authorities I am sure every penny will go to those most in need.

For those frequent travelers, if you feel you don’t want to part with your hard earned cash you can donate your airmiles.

You can find more info here: http://www.airmiles.com

[quote=“Eric W. Lier”][quote]Which tells me, at least, that Taiwan’s international image – or lack thereof – is richly deserved.
[/quote]
Some might argue, Taiwan giving money to anyone besides themselves is a sign of progress.[/quote]
Touche!

[quote=“Connel”]For those frequent travelers, if you feel you don’t want to part with your hard earned cash you can donate your airmiles.

You can find more info here: http://www.airmiles.com[/quote]

Very cool! thanks! :rainbow:

My wife asked me yesterday if we can donate NT$2,000 to the tsunami relief efforts through Tzu Chi. Not wanting to perpetuate the image of stingy americans ( :wink: ), I said sure.

While my wife’s not a member of Tzu Chi, when we were in Hualien last weekend she asked if I would mind checking out the Tzu Chi complex. Very impressive. They have a large university there that apparently offers various real courses and degrees (nursing and medical stuff, not just meditation and mantras), next door to a good looking hospital and huge temple with Tzu Chi museum in the basement. We walked around the museum and saw countless photos and displays regarding the good work they’ve been doing around the world, helping refugees, famine or earthquake victims, providing medical assistance, etc., for the past 40 years. I was very impressed. The people were also extremely kind.

When I got back to the office on Monday I googled them a little, hoping to find info on what percentage of their donations goes for administrative costs or whether they’ve suffered from any public scandals. I found nothing regarding either of those points, but I did find abundant articles on all the good work that they do, including helping out after the 9/11 attacks.

They get two :thumbsup: from me. :slight_smile:

Here’s info about Tzu Chi’s various services:
tzuchi.org/global/services/index.html

And here’s how to donate:
tzuchi.org/global/help/index.html

I know the Tzu Chi foundation does good work, but I saw them at an event in Beijing several months ago, and I was slightly bothered by the religious overtones and ‘missionary’ feeling I got from them. I’m not sure if that accompanies all their efforts. I just don’t feel comfortable with any ‘package’ ‘tagged’ to relief efforts.

It is a Buddhist organization with Buddhist overtones, but they don’t do missionary things, Buddhists don’t try to convert people.

You can make a donation to their tsunami fund at the Post Office, account num. 06887791 which goes at the top of the form, under that is account name : “佛教慈濟基金會” I don’t know if there’s a way to simplfy that. And to make sure it goes to tsunami relief and not Tzu Chi in general, write “國際急難基金” on the back, but I reckon “Tsunami” will work too. Here’s their page on it, in Chinese: www2.tzuchi.org.tw/2004/case/cha … /index.htm

You can probably find them collecting at places like Warner or Ximending at the weekend, but I don’t know exactly.

That’s not exactly accurate, Matt. A lot of Buddhist orgs in Taiwan actively prosletize. It’s not as “in your face” as some of the Christian missionaries, but it is very real indeed. I know from multiple first-hand experiences. Remember that Buddhism as a religion can be taken in many different directions and is a far cry from Buddhism as a philosophy.

This is not to shirk the efforts of the Buddhist aid orgs, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that they’re completly devoid of agendas, subtle or otherwise.

Anyway, since I don’t want to derail this thread, that’s all I’ll say on the matter. I just thought a bit of elucidation may be helpful for those considering where do donate money.