NationStates Jolt Archive

Luckily, a response has been made to the earthquake in Indonesia which has now killed more than 5,000 people (last I heard it was only 2,500), more than 20,000 injured and left 130,000 homeless (40% of those homeless are children) according to the United Nations Children's Fund.

Survivors are going to be given, by the government, $21 each for clothes and household items, while families will get 26.4 pounds of rice. Those with damaged homes will be compensated, all this according to Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

I'm glad efforts are being made to counteract this disaster. The American Red Cross is also helping with the disaster so, if you can I'd give at least $5.00 to the American Red Cross (http://redcross.org). And since it's a nonprofit organization, your donation is tax exempt. :) It may not seem like much but if... say 10,000 of us donate just 5 dollars, that's a $50,000 dollars already. Maybe that's not millions, but it's a lot more if say... 10,000 people in every large city donated that much. It'd raise at least a million, and all each individual would have to do is just skip buying maybe a diet coke and a sandwich for that day and instead open up a can of soup they probably have lying around in their house somewhere. It's a small price to pay for a good cause.

[UPDATE]

Luckily I've found this page on CNN that has more places other than just the American Red Cross (there's also an International Red Cross, which I hadn't heard of until now), you can donate.

<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/05/28/indo.quake.aid/index.html">Here's the list.</a>

So far, aid officials from 20 countries have responded to alleivate some of the hardship of the earthquake from survivors. While the death toll has unfortunately climbed to 5,800, the U.S. increased it's pledge of aid to 5 million this Tuesday. However, one pound of rice (half a kilogram) per family isn't really enough. Some survivors have still yet to recieve the aid they need. On a brighter note, hospitals in the Aceh province (where the tsunami killed 100,000 people in 2004), have greatly improved. Most patients now have beds they can be treated in. A main hospital in Bantul however, has more than 400 patients to 100 beds. There's also concern over how close they are to the equator and the possiblity for spread of disease. Luckily, emergency immunization programs have been launched to try and combat these risks. There's also a concern over the earthquake's affects on Mount Merapi, a volcano which had been rumbling weeks before the earthquake hit. The mountain was seen spouting hot lava and clouds sending debris two miles (four kilometers) down it's sides. Indoensia also has been dealing with a recent avian flu threat. Six more human cases of H5N1 strand were reported Monday. With all of this it seems really hard to look on a bright side, but luckily there are people out there that are being helped. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/">CNN has a report on the victims who are being helped.</a>

So... if you haven't donated yet, I, again, encourage you to do so.

My heart goes out to those who lost their lives, their homes, their livelihoods, everything.

I hope to make a contribution through local agencies in my area soon.