If you can find it in you, please help out the victims of hurricane Katrina by donating to the Red Cross.
Hurria, if there is a way to donate money to help the over 900 killed and hundreds wounded from the pilgrimage in Baghdad please let me know and I will post that as well.
For those who pray, both Iraq and New Orleans have need of all the prayers you have.
I read on the help page of THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT SOCIETIES that to help out in Iraq you must contact the Iraqi chapter directly. HERE is how you do that.
7 comments:
I would suggest that the Salvation Army is a better recipient of aid money. The Red Cross is very top heavy and much of the money it receives goes to fund raising and administration. The Salvation Army is much leaner and more of your donation goes to those in need.
I think you can give to the International Council of the Red Cross, ICRC, which is, according to a close friend of mine who works with Doctors Without Borders as head of mission, one of the very best NGOs out there. Red Crescent would receive money from ICRC.
Seriously Ill, I have to disagree with you about Salvation Army. For one thing, Ray Kroc's widow left her fortune to them not even two years ago -- billions and billions of dollars. They are not in as much financial need as the Red Cross. Second, they are a religious organization and therefore alienate some that they are trying to help. American Red Cross is not religious or partisan. They are as top-heavy as any other organization, but they are also the ones organizing and running all of the main shelters that are operating right now. They are the most legitimate organization we have.
The whole thing is so terribly tragic. Our government has been negligent. So many are suffering here and in Iraq. It's criminal.
Thanks for the link! I used it to plop down a hundred bucks, mainly because I feel guilty about being on vacation while my country falls apart.
Why donate to the Red Cross, they'll just go and SELL the water to them.
Yes, Mountain Girl, where's your evidence? My friend was in the Astrodome last night giving assistance and no one had to pay for anything. The Red Cross/Red Crescent is legitimate and there in times of need, often when the government has completely abandoned its own people, as ours has done in New Orleans and also Iraq.
BTW, everyone, it's quite easy to specify Iraq through ICRC's website. When you go to the donate page, they have a list of operations you can support, or you can let them distribute the funds to the operation in most need.
They are an extraordinary organization. I can also recommend Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), although they are no longer working in Iraq or Afghanistan because, sadly, our troop presence and militarization/ politicization of humanitarian efforts have made it too dangerous for them. Rumor has it they are coming to New Orleans, though.
There are still people who have had no contact with their families who are stuck in New Orleans. Air America has set up a Public Voicemail Service to help people get into contact. The number is 1-866-217-6255. You can find information on how it works here: http://www.airamericaradio.com/katrina/
The response to the disaster has been a nightmare. Their are literally corpses laying around. There have even been reports of people eating corpses because they have no food. They are saying that up to 10,000 could die and that it will take $100 billion dollars to rebuild the city. It is going to take months to pump the water out of the city. It is a national tragedy too sad and shameful for words right now.
Please spread the word about the voicemail system so that people are able to locate their families.
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