Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao consoles families in Beichuan.Photo: AFP
With 5 million homeless and the death toll surpassing 40,000, Hong Kong leads in providing global relief to China's quake victims offering 38 million dollars (24.5 million euros), the lion's share of the 46.5 million dollars pledged worldwide. Japan is sending 500 million yen (4.8 million dollars) worth of blankets, tents and cash aid. Norway has pledged $4 million in aid, Three cheers for Google... for donating $2 million, including $1.7 million from Google.org, to help assist in relief and rebuilding efforts. The Canadian government is matching private donations. And, the Bush administration's initial aid package for Chinese earthquake relief... $500,000.
Are you surprised or embarrassed by the White House response?
You want to help... but what organization(s) can you trust to use your donations most effectively? Some people criticize the US Red Cross for extracting "processing fees" from the contributions. Donations to aid China's earthquake victims can safely be sent to the following organizations:
MercyCorps
is mounting an emergency response for survivors through its local partner, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA). Together, they are procuring food, water, clothing and shelter supplies for affected families.
onefoundation, is the charity organization founded by movie star Jet Li. The foundation provides full public disclosure in annual finance reports.
Tzu Chi has been working in China providing disaster relief efforts since 1991. They don't pass donations on to the Chinese Red Cross. Instead they have their own workers in China and purchase clothing and food themselves to guarantee that 100% of collected donations are directly provided to the earthquake victims. They also have an office in Seattle:
Tzu-Chi Seattle Office
12639 NE 85th St.,
Kirkland, WA 98033
(425)8227678
Tzu Chi US is a 501(c)3 organization. Your donation to Tzu Chi is tax deductible (Tax ID No. 94-2952782). Tzu Chi has opened a special account to accept your donation for Sichuan earthquake.
For credit card donation, please call: 1-888.989.8244 1.888.9TZUCHI
For check donation: Please make check payable to Tzu Chi
For direct deposit or wire transfer:
Mailing address: Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, U.S.A.
1100 S. Valley Center Ave., San Dimas, CA 91773
Tel: (909) 447-7799
Cathay Bank (777 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012)
ABA: 122203950
Account No: 01-130005
Here's a story on one American organization that has managed to take an active role...
Kansas group helps get relief to China quake zone
MIANYANG, China (AP) — Donated vans came from another Chinese province. American students arranged extra warehouse space for donated food, water and medicine. A Canadian couple offered free medical expertise.
Linking them all is Heart to Heart, an Olathe, Kan.-based humanitarian group that is putting foreign volunteers and Chinese together to get help to survivors of China's worst earthquake in decades.
"We pay our own way to come here and help. People say, 'Why do you do that?' I say to the Chinese: 'One day we'll have this need. We will need to have the world help us,'" said Dr. Gary Morsch, founder of Heart to Heart.
Largely powered by volunteers, the disaster-aid group is a rarity in China, which has long been suspicious of non-governmental organizations and foreign influences.
China initially refused all offers to have foreign aid workers involved in disaster relief, saying it would accept emergency supplies but didn't have the capacity to accommodate foreign aid teams.
But the horrifying devastation across a wide swath of central Sichuan province quickly convinced Beijing it needed specialized help.
Search and rescue teams from Japan, Russia, Singapore and South Korea were allowed in, fanning out to extract survivors, and increasingly bodies, from unstable mounds of rubble. But China inexplicably refused entry to teams from Britain, Australia and several other nations.
Still, China's ability to respond using its own resources and manpower has been impressive, Morsch said.
"I think the response here has been as great and quick and fast as anywhere I've seen," he said.
Heart to Heart's unusual access is due to its long-standing presence in Chengdu, where it set up offices 11 years ago to work a variety of projects, including specialized medical training and disaster management.
Partnering with local Chinese groups and the provincial health bureau, the group slowly built up the trust that has allowed it to work unhampered during the earthquake crisis.
In the last week, an average of 100 volunteers a day has streamed through the group's main Chengdu office, some dropping off carloads of supplies, others offering to be part of relief teams. About half are foreigners, including Americans, Koreans and Germans, and the rest are Chinese.
"We live here in Mianyang," said one volunteer, Aaron Cyboron, 27, of Norfolk, Neb., who has been studying Chinese at a local university for three years. "When the quake happened, we were desperately looking for ways to help.
Two days after the quake, he and fellow student Aric Berger of Auburn, Wash., joined a group of Heart to Heart volunteers in hiking into the badly hit town of Beichuan, carrying supplies in their backpacks.
"It was surreal, the destruction there. I didn't recognize the place anymore," said Berger, 23. "The major residential area was probably 50 to 60 six-story buildings. Now it's virtually one pile."
The two students quickly became ad hoc organizers, finding a storage space — an empty garage in the apartment complex where Berger lived — where medical supplies and basic aid could be stockpiled. They scouted out four houses to hold volunteers
"Everyone I know has been completely willing to jump in on this, from big things to little stuff," Berger said.
The response from the Chinese people has been even more astounding, said Morsch, 56, a family practice physician.
"What we're seeing is a massive outpouring of support by Chinese, which is part of the long-term growth of a society. It's wonderful to see this happen," he said.
He attributes it in part to the increased economic success of a growing middle class: "They have the means to say, 'Let's go and do it ourselves.'"
Among the most impressive donations came from the Jiang Huai automotive company, based in Anhui Province, which loaned 200 vehicles — passengers cars, minivans and trucks — to the relief effort.
"We sent out cars on the first day of the quake," said Nick Xiong, 39, an employee who volunteered to make the 35-hour drive from Anhui to Sichuan to deliver a van. "We just want to help our people."
The chance to be a part of a bigger effort is part of the motivation for many of the volunteers.
Watching the devastation on TV in Beijing, three American friends decided to buy one-way tickets to Chengdu and showed up on the doorstep of Heart to Heart.
They initially planned to join a small team that backpacks supplies into the remotest of areas. But then they were told there was a need to work with children.
"We were open for anything," said Gabriel Mellan, 25, of Maui in Hawaii. "I had packed a pair of underwear, a couple pairs of socks, and my kazoo."
So Mellan, along with friends Doug McGee, 32, of Hilo, Hawaii, and Josh Kidwell, 26, of San Jose, Calif., went to a refugee camp outside Mianyang that is housing 20,000 people.
The three pulled out a guitar and the kazoo and put on an impromptu song and dance show for dozens of children. Shouts of laughter rang out from the giant circle as the kids giggled and chased their new friends.
As Morsch watched the dozens of children form a ring around the three, a wide grin stretched across his face.
"You don't have to be a brain surgeon. If you have a good heart, you can contribute. This is about ordinary people helping each other out," he said. "They are my heroes."
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