As a former flood victim I would strongly suggest that people NOT donate to either the Red Cross or the Salvation Army, both of which I found to be quite useless. That being said, many of these other groups are surely worthy.
Or, there is David Albert (see http://www.skylarksings.com/ or the email below) who is known to some people I respect. I have been meaning to google him, but hey, there is a phone number here; if you are considering helping him perhaps you can just call him. I am told btw that he has been able to reach his sister and the hospital is ok, though no doubt overwhelmed. If you are leery of sending money to an individual as perhaps is necessary in these times, he mentions a Ghandian foundation that sounds legitimate. Dana Dear homeschooling friends – By now, many of you have read about the tsunami that has just hit the coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal. I am particularly sad to report that areas of the coast of southeast India are in ruins. This is the area in which my adopted Indian parents have been doing land reform/development work for the past 40 years, and also where American homeschoolers have contributed much-needed funds to help build houses for people who were previously living in little more than mud and grass huts that would be destroyed during every monsoon, and to support 220 orphans. A wall of water 30-40 feet high hit and moved more than 10 miles inland (where the orphanages are), destroying everything in its wake.. The mangroves, which had been the only natural protection against such destruction, had all been cut down by multinational/World Bank-backed projects in industrial shrimp farming. As of this writing, 1,100 people are reported dead in this district, and upwards of a million homeless. I am awaiting more direct word from my mother or sister, but am unlikely to receive it anytime soon. (My sister is head of a pediatrics hospital in the region – I expect I won't hear from her in weeks!), As it turns out, my daughter (former homeschooler and now Smith College first-year Aliyah) and I were planning to leave for the area on Tuesday evening. We would (and may) still go, though with plans to assist in the relief effort. But I expect the local airports will be commandeered for relief aid, so we'll just have to see. In the meantime, we have set up a relief fund. All proceeds from the sale of my book "The Color of Freedom" (which is an oral biography of my parents, and the story of their work) were already going to their efforts, and can be purchased through my website at www.skylarksings.com Tax-deductible donations – cash, checks, or credit cards – can be sent to me at the address on the site (if for more than $500, checks should be made out to The Gandhian Foundation; if not, simply to Skylark Sings, as the funds will get there faster.) The quickest way is simply to call me at 360 352-0506 (will be out this evening, though), and I'll do what is necessary – we will wire the combined contributions directly, and there will be no overhead to cover. Thank you for your help and prayers. David www.skylarksings.com One has David Albert's plea for help... http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/articles/122704.htm And the Other is Links for Kids http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/explore/tsunami.htm On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 02:11:45 -0400, Robert Munn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Angel, I've been following it very closely. My wife (who is Indian) is very > distraught about the loss of life, especially among children. We are very > worried that many more people will lose their lives from disease than died in > the initial disaster. > > For everyone out there, I know the post-holiday period can be tough on the > wallet, but if you have anything to spare, please consider donating to a > relief fund for this disaster. You can visit: > > http://www.cidi.org/incident/tsunami/ > > to get a list of charities participating in the effort and guidelines on how > to contribute. Money is what is most desperately needed right now. I just saw > a story on TV about how insurance company exposure to the disaster will be > far below the exposure to the hurricanes in Florida this year. The reason for > the low exposure is that many of the affected areas are impoverished and > uninsured. What that means is that many survivors have nothing left- no home, > no possessions, only the clothing on their backs. Anything you can give, even > just a few dollars, will save lives and families in the days and weeks to > come. > > A few days ago I would have wished you all Happy Holidays, but that hardly > seems appropriate now. I hope you and your loved ones are safe this holiday > season and that we can all help to make a difference to the many people > affected by this disaster. > > For my own part, I have been lying low recently. The U.S. election (not to > mention New Orleans) wore me out, and I've been getting my keister kicked at > work with a big upsurge in projects, but this terrible disaster in Asia has > prompted me to jump back on the list. Best to all. > > Rob > > > So, are you all following this story? > > > > It's horrific the amount of damage that has been done by this tidal > > wave. It's the worst earthquake in 40 years! The wall of water > > was over 3 stories high, and travelled in excess of 500kph. That's > > just..amazing. > > > > If that had hit say the caribbean we'd have been wiped out. Or imagine > > the western Seaboard of the US. > > > > It's frightening that such things can happen in the world today, and > > there's not a damned thing we can do about it. > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Special thanks to the CF Community Suite Gold Sponsor - CFHosting.net http://www.cfhosting.net Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:141007 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
