Charities Blog

Giving Something Back

Disaster Fatigue

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disaster-fatigue.jpg
The term denotes the slow influx of aid and donations form countries that used to be generous enough to send billions of dollars to countries that have been devastated by disasters like the recent catastrophes in Myanmar and China. The government has sent aid but for most of the private individuals who used to give a buck or two to help people rebuild their lives, donations are relatively small compared to other disasters on record. Maybe its the recent financial crunch that has many either fearing the loss of their jobs in the coming months or maybe just that they are quite fed up with the situation as in Myanmar with the government committing crimes against humanity by refusing to help their own residents. They initially refused to accept aid from Western nations saying they had the capacity to do it on their own, but as the obvious became apparent and they finally let some aid in the officials of the Military Junta began to stockpile imported aid for their own sending rotten stores to their citizens.
This is a sad yet true story for even the most generous people do have to deal with their own financial woes. China, which has spent billions of dollars in developing and constructing new structures (airport, athletic venues and other such Olympic aimed infrastructures), has appealed for aid from the outside world countering their previous denial for aid. Myanmar which showcases everything as normal even with the rest of the world saying and knowing it isn’t is truly hypocrisy in the highest levels. With thousands of corpses lining rivers and villages, and with no immediate sanitary way of dealing with them the threat of epidemics is high and possible.
People will continue to give like they have always done in the human tragedies of past but world wide economic slowdown may make it more difficult for those who give and receive aid. People are also frustrated that even with the billions in aid being sent to areas and people in need, their government’s themselves fail to take up the cause of helping their own. The world is filled with compassionate and caring individuals that allow us to remain human, compassionate and ever helpful.
A reality that has to be accepted is that these people will have to do the healing by themselves and that is by far the only certainty in this disaster plagued world. The resilience of humans has amazed us in all of the world’s disasters from then till now, let us just hope we as a part of the human race continue to help each other in spite of political, ideological and other differences.

Originally posted on May 22, 2011 @ 9:00 am

Myanmar Cyclone Nargis

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myanmaraid.jpgMany have been left homeless and the country is in shambles, the Military Junta run country is facing a catastrophe with them denying entry to most of the aid agencies from the West. Reports are beginning to trickle in that hundreds of thousands are dead and hundreds of thousands are without shelter, safe drinking water and food. The government had not allowed Western aid agencies to enter the most affected areas and reporters from Western news agencies are being told to go out. The government insists they can handle the distribution of aid which they are allowing into the country through aid flights from the US which has offered millions in aid. Many other countries have shown willingness to give aid and send in their aid workers but the government is standing firm and is still not issuing visas to foreign aid people for a proper distribution and mobilization of aid for those who need it most.
The UN has appealed again and again along with many aid agencies from overseas for the government to open air and waterways for aid transportation. The UN has expressed discontent and aid agencies are frustrated for they still could not send in their people to handle the disaster. Reports are trickling in that dead bodies are everywhere, in canals and rice paddies rotting which gives more urgency to the need for proper aid along with people who are better equipped and experienced in handling such situations.
The poor country is in disarray and without proper medical facilities even for a developing country and with little support infrastructure to ferry and distribute aid, many more deaths would surely result in the aftermath of the cyclone. Various aid agencies are now accepting aid and donations in hopes of the border being opened soon to allow foreign aid such as food, water, temporary shelter and many other basic necessities to help the people of Myanmar.

Originally posted on May 4, 2008 @ 7:36 am

Impromptu Charity Groups within Working Hard

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myanmar.jpgPeople of Myanmar are working to help their fellow countrymen in their efforts to help those most affected. Loading their family cars with all the stuff they can spare, they drive into the most affected areas to distribute blankets, bread and other items that the hardest hit areas need. People are expressing frustration at the government’s efforts, taking rotten stores for their warehouses and sending them out to the people with some saying the rice is rotten and the food is not even fit for dogs to eat.
True to this, many are crying out to the rest of the world for the government to allow aid agencies to assist in the relief efforts to alleviate the suffering the already impoverished people are in. Without shelter, they are forced to live in shabby tarpaulin structures that stand no protection form the severe weather that is threatening to hit soon. Aid agencies such as the UN, Doctors without Borders and many others are still out due to the government not granting visas to their personnel for them to properly enter the country. Aid workers in neighboring countries have walked through the border and are getting to the people but their small numbers is not sufficient to cover the wide area that was left devastated by the cyclone. The US has succeeded to convince the government to allow them to fly in supplies with two flights of aid into the capital. They are requesting for more flights and the US military has also expressed frustration at them not being allowed to enter territorial waters. The US fleet is in Thailand and they have the equipment to process water making it safe for drinking to avoid a possible outbreak of deadly disease.
The government insists they can handle the distribution effort but they are only doing so in areas near the capital and to the families of their soldiers who have not been too severely impacted by the storm. The people in rural areas are the ones who are at risk and without proper sanitation equipment and supplies the rotting bodies if left out in the open, would cause more deaths in the months to come.

Originally posted on May 7, 2008 @ 7:38 am