Made in Japan, Outsourced Globally

We were merry last night as we ate Indian food and drank bargain Australian wine for a friend's farewell. All of us being concerned global citizens began discussing what we could possibly do to help the tsunami victims.

In Hong Kong, the Lan Kwai Fong Association promised to put in 50% of proceeds that day into the Red Cross and UNICEF. We never made it to that side of town last night, but we thought the gesture was still grand for a party community like Lan Kwai Fong.

The group began brainstorming on fundraising events, and veered to the topic of holding parties. According to one of my friends, "the end justifies the means. Any way to rake in money is a good action." Or holding a charity box and approaching everyone who is walking on the street - people never expect being approached in kindness in the streets of Hong Kong, right?

But we got talking further on the topic of "even if we donate, how will our money be used?" To be honest, that exact question had been bothering me for a while. I chatted with an Indonesian Aiesecer in Java earlier that day. When I asked him what is most needed right now in Aceh in light of the trouble with fuel and aid distribution, he paused, and simply said: "helicopters. We need helicopters."

Sitting back in the comfort of our offices and living rooms, how can we make a discretion on putting money where it counts? According to my two OZ mates, international organizations have the credibility and leverage, but the administrative costs are also large.

My friend, Paris, also happens to know an NGO (affiliation of an ex-Aiesecer off an island in Indonesia, very close to the epicenter), which is so focused on one thing that the admin cost is only around 5% and he is certain that it has the skills and infrastructure to use the money wisely. While I had donated quite a bit to the Red Cross, I asked Paris to send on the good word for further contribution to this NGO...


The arrow points to Nias Island - Main island in the Mentawai Islands
As of Dec 30th:
- Northwestern town of Lahewa - extreme devastation, yet to be reached
- Central coast town Sirombu - 150 dead and more than 1,500 people left completely homeless

Dear all,

I hope each of us is considering what little role we may each play in helping those affected by the tragedy.... I am writing to offer one alternative... one channel... for funding some of the relief efforts....

One of my close Indonesian friends works for a small NGO called SurfAid International (she is an ex-AIESECer based in Padang, Sumatra). This NGO has a sole focus on helping the Mentawai Islands, a very poor, inaccessible, group of islands, off the west coast of Sumatra. As you can see from the image, they were one of the closest land masses to the epicentre of the quake.

It is called SurfAid International, because pretty much the only thing of "international significance" that the Mentawai Island's provides is some of the best surfing in the world. The New Zealand doctor who established the NGO wants to channel money from the global surfing community (and other interested ppl) into one of the world's poorest and most isolated communities. As you can see from their website www.surfaidinternational.org they focus on very basic health and sanitation requirements of these islands.

I am not a surfer, nor do I have huge respect for the global surfing community, but I do know the doctor, and his excellent team, who run SurfAid. Having spent a week in their offices in Padang, Sumatra, I have chosen to fund through this channel for four reasons:

i) first and foremost, they work with very isolated communities who were very close to the epicentre of the quake

ii) they are small NGO - so a very high percentage of my donations will make it directly through to relief efforts

iii) they are very focused - they do one thing: "help the ppl of the Mentawai Islands with basic health needs"

iv) they have an existing infrastructure - they already have on ground ppl, networks, partners to scale-up relief

This isn't a Paris sell job, I just wanted to prompt each of you to think about what tangible contribution you might make, and I wanted to offer a very personal endorsement of an NGO where your contribution (no matter how small) will be channelled very directly through to helping some of those closest to the centre of the devastation.

If you have been thinking, my $20 USD donation to Red Cross/Oxfam etc etc won't be worth much by the time 80% is taken out on admin and overhead, this is an alternative...You can donate online via their website. Every dollar you donate, will be matched by the New Zealand government....

I would be very grateful if you can forward this mail onto others you may know, who are looking for a funding channel that will directly reach those who are worst affected.

Prayers
Paris

While I don't endorse everyone to rush at this one organization, I say 'go for it!' if you truly agree that it is going to the right people. I think logistics companies like DHL are doing a great job at trying to make a constructive relief effort.

If you are feeling any guilt or suffering at the inability to help... I'd say think hard and put the money where it is going to be constructive. Talk to others to help them make an informed decision. In the end of the day, we're not sure if our aid money goes to helicopters and fuels so that other aid support gets to where it needs - but it has to be used somehow and there is a need for long-term reconstruction. I take comfort in that.