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03-16-2011, 02:55 PM
It's also worth noting here that the appeals process for Japan has been far less vocal (in the UK at least) than for comparable disasters in third-world countries. I remember when news of Haiti broke, and further back, the Sierra Leone famine crisis; every news cast was accompanied by 'how to donate, please donate' information and blatant mention of the appeal; news of Japan isn't operating in the same way.
Plenty of news coverage, but no actual broadcasted appeals for aid that I've seen so far. 
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03-16-2011, 03:55 PM
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I think my indulgence in this silliness has reached its end.
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How UK charities are helping quake-hit Japan -
03-16-2011, 04:00 PM
While browsing news I found something interesting:
BBC NEWS: BBC News - How UK charities are helping quake-hit Japan How UK charities are helping quake-hit Japan By Marie Jackson BBC News - 16/03/2011  Japanese residents queue up to receive aid supplies in the devastated city of Sendai Japan's massive earthquake and the tsunami that followed have left thousands of families homeless, children without parents and food and fuel shortages. In response, 91 countries have offered aid, from blankets and food to search dogs and military transport. But the Japanese government is among the best prepared in the world for disasters and has so far only made specific requests for help, such as calling for search and rescue teams. There has been no request yet for humanitarian assistance from the international community. This has put UK charities and Britons wanting to help in an unusual position - until Japan asks for help, the UK is limited in what it can do. Several charities, including Save the Children UK, British Red Cross and World Vision UK, are asking for donations. “People's desire to help is overwhelming and understandable” DEC spokesman However, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) - usually the first to launch a major fundraising appeal after a disaster - is not planning one for Japan. The umbrella body that represents 13 of the largest UK aid agencies says the Japanese government is very much in charge and help is being carefully co-ordinated. "The danger is almost 'too many cooks spoil the broth'," said a DEC spokesman. He said the charities' expertise is in responding to disasters in poorer developing countries where infrastructure can be weak, government agencies often have limited capacity and many people are already vulnerable from chronic poverty. The kind of help needed in developed countries is quite different, he says. The DEC launched an appeal immediately after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti - the poorest nation in the Americas. By contrast, Japan has the world's third-largest economy - but many people who see TV footage of the devastation day after day still want to help in any way they can. There has been much talk on social networking sites of ways to help the Japanese people. High-profile artists such as Lady Gaga are reported to be setting up fundraisers - she says she has designed a "Japan prayer bracelet" - but it is unclear which charities will received the money raised. An evacuee makes a bed on the floor of a school gymnasium People made homeless by the earthquake are staying in makeshift evacuation centres The DEC has come in for some criticism for not setting up an appeal, but has tried to explain its position through Twitter and Facebook. "People's desire to help is overwhelming and understandable," said the DEC spokesman. "Once we talk them through it, they are quite supportive." Of those charities that have made appeals, Save the Children UK says it has raised £60,000 in three days. Its target is £1m. A team from Save the Children is already in Sendai, one of the worst affected areas, to set up play areas. “We are assessing the situation and waiting to hear from partners - Japan are pretty much in control.” British Red Cross Stephen McDonald, from the charity, told the BBC that Japan was a country that liked to be self-sufficient, but these play areas would be safe havens for the most vulnerable children as they tried to recover from the trauma of the disaster. The charity performed a similar role during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the floods in Pakistan. The British Red Cross is also appealing for donations, which will most likely be sent to support the Japanese Red Cross, giving medical and psychological care to survivors. Currently, it has 735 people there making up 85 medical teams, including doctors and nurses, as well as volunteers to distribute hot meals and blankets, clear debris and provide medical transport. A spokesman for the British Red Cross said it had not sent any supplies or teams to the country but would, if asked. "We are assessing the situation and waiting to hear from partners," he said. "Japan are pretty much in control." The charity also warned that hoax e-mails claiming to be raising money for the Japan Tsunami Appeal were being circulated.  Blankets and tents Aid agency World Vision UK has raised £96,000 from donations. The charity has a team already on the ground in Japan distributing bottled water, blankets and setting up child-friendly spaces. It said no UK team was planning to go out to Japan. Islamic Relief has also launched an emergency appeal and, according to its website, is considering the most suitable intervention. It has several offices close by, including in China, Indonesia and Malaysia. Christian Aid is directing donations to its sister agency, the Church World Service, which works with Japanese non-governmental organisations. And Oxfam says its donations will go to Oxfam Japan to help fund a service for breastfeeding mothers and a language centre for non-Japanese speakers affected by the disaster. One smaller charity - Cornwall-based Shelterbox - has already sent 220 tents and survival equipment to Tokyo. There are 5,000 more packed ready to go but fuel shortages may well make it difficult to get tents to some of the worst-affected areas."
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Evacuees face food and medicine shortages in Japan -
03-16-2011, 04:14 PM
Rescue and recovery operations are continuing in Japan but cold and snowy weather in the north-east is hampering efforts.
Survivors who have been forced to leave their homes are also facing shortages of basic supplies and hospitals are running low on medicines. Mike Wooldridge reports. BBC News - Evacuees face food and medicine shortages in Japan
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again sorta not -
03-16-2011, 04:16 PM
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By Allan Chernoff, CNN senior correspondentFebruary 2, 2010 NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) In regards to the Red Cross and it's performance in the US a ( country ). Wrong MMM, in the case of the charity relief work in the US - in the wake of both the Sept. 11, 2001, and Katrina flooding , New Orleans and especially Haiti Earthquake relief efforts the Red Cross was caught trying to divert donations to the Red Cross Liberty Disaster Fund for other purposes*,again Red Cross was blamed for poor coordination of relief efforts in the aftermath of Katrina. Local Red Cross chapters have been victims of embezzlement. And two years ago the Red Cross had to turn to Congress for a $100 million infusion after its emergency response fund was depleted. (The Red Cross has a Congressional charter and counts the president of the United States as its honorary chairman.)
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03-16-2011, 04:36 PM
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Is the American Red Cross worthy of donations - Feb. 1, 2010 I think it is very misleading to cherry pick a couple negative incidents when the conclusion of the article would no doubt be "yes" to the question if you read it all the way though. The American Red Cross receives a three-star rating from Charity Navigator, up from two stars in 2008, but still one star shy of the top ranking. Berger says that's primarily because the Red Cross does not have an ample financial cushion to carry the organization through lean times. While improving efficiency, Red Cross executives say they are also intent on ensuring that donor funds to Haiti are not lost to fraud. So, financial auditors are on the ground in Haiti, tracking expenditures. "Fraud is certainly at the top of our minds," said David Meltzer, senior vice president American Red Cross International Services. "I don't want our dollars of assistance to end up in sticky fingers. I want it to get to the people who need it." Let's not confuse the situation at a time when people are in need.
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again sorta not -
03-16-2011, 05:42 PM
How about these 'cherrys'?
Richard Walden, of the humanitarian group Operation USA, in the Los Angeles Times ..,"The worst scandal came after the September 11 attacks, when it was revealed that a large portion of the hundreds of millions of dollars donated to the organization went not to survivors or family members of those killed, but to other Red Cross operations, in what was described by chapters across the country as a "bait-and-switch" operation." Red Cross relief efforts after Katrina,.. "Its fundraising vastly outruns its programs because it does very little or nothing to rescue survivors, provide direct medical care or rebuild houses." Eileen Therese Saxon of the Asheville, North Carolina Red Cross chapter charged with embezzling $165,000 – 9% of its $1.25 million dollar annual budget. (Source Ashville Citizen Times) Karen Shuerger, former assistant director of accounting at the Orange County, California Chapter of the Red Cross has been sentenced to six months in Federal prison, ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $110,000 and when she is released, she will also serve 3 years of supervised release and six months of home detention. (Source: NY Times) Red Cross Director Jonathon A. Jarrell of Virginia indicted on one count of embezzlement. Jarrell allegedly embezzled about $16,452 from the chapter between November 2004 and July 2006. Joseph Lecowitch, CEO of the Hudson County Chapter in New Jersey, and his bookkeeper Catalina Escoto. Escoto gave herself $75,000 in bonuses. According to prosecutors, these two stole well over $1 million Red Cross donor dollars squandering it on gambling and each other. (Source: NY Times). Pls. source what auditors are in Haiti ? The same group of government appointees that watched the financial insitutions meltdown without a hic-cup*? Are poor choices for auditors. Note; ARC American Red Cross has gone thru six presidents in the last nine years, several of whom were forced out. One was fired for having an inappropriate “sexual relationship with a subordinate.” Since 2008' ARC has laid off one-third of its employees, ARC has faced a $210 million deficit. It received $100 million in emergency funds from Congress and has since been able to reduce that gap to about $35.5 million. With a proven tangible history of mismanagement and fiscal abuse somebody should pull the plug on this organization.
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