Thursday, June 30, 2005

Embassy - Newspaper Online.-Complaints Roll In As Tsunami Aid Cash Wells Up

Embassy - Newspaper Online.: "Complaints Roll In As Tsunami Aid Cash Wells Up
'You can't spend money like this in the snap of a finger'
The unprecedented outpouring of cash donations in the wake of the December 26 tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters on record, has left Canadian non-governmental organizations in an odd situation.

The massive bank accounts they accumulated over hours and days are collecting interest six months later. Meanwhile, some private donors are demanding to know why their generosity isn't flowing more rapidly to the 13 affected countries around the Indian Ocean. Some government aid agencies are also being scrutinized for holding onto millions of dollars in pledges. Private sector donations from individuals, corporations and other types of organizations are about $5 billion, according to Reuters Tsunami Watch. In addition government and multilateral organizations have promised about $6.9 billion. Of that amount, the 10 largest donors, including Canada, make up about $5.2 billion in pledges. But as of this month only about 65 per cent ($3.46 billion) had been allocated. "

London Free Press: News Section - Martin rebukes leaders for breaking promises

London Free Press: News Section - Martin rebukes leaders for breaking promises: "Martin rebukes leaders for breaking promises

He said pledges to poorer countries often were made with little intent to honour them.
ALEXANDER PANETTA, CP 2005-06-30 01:59:08


OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Paul Martin castigated fellow world leaders for making headline-grabbing pledges and then abandoning the world's poorest countries.

The rebuke came as Martin prepared for a G8 summit next week where he will face pressure to make a long-term aid pledge on Canada's behalf."

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online-Charities reap rewards of tsunami effect

Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online: "Charities reap rewards of tsunami effect"

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Business -- Tsunami prompts companies to play greater role in humanitarian relief efforts

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Business -- Tsunami prompts companies to play greater role in humanitarian relief efforts: "CALANG, Indonesia – Mike Gray spends most days as Rolls-Royce's regional director selling jet engines to the Indonesian military or compression systems to oil companies across the country's vast archipelago.

But since the tsunami, the 54-year-old Briton with a boyish face has assumed a new role: spurring corporate relief efforts."

Monday, June 27, 2005

USATODAY.com - Red tape slows tsunami recovery

USATODAY.com - Red tape slows tsunami recovery: "Red tape slows tsunami recovery
By Paul Wiseman, USA TODAY
HONG KONG � Six months after a killer wave tore across southern Asia's coastlines, fumbling governments there are still struggling to distribute aid, clean up and rebuild.

Many tsunami victims complain that the government is taking way too long to resettle the many people whose homes were destroyed.
By Paula Bronstein, Getty Images

'Life is not getting back to normal,' says Sukumar Rockwood, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sri Lanka. 'There's been a lot of bureaucracy. Nobody really knows what is going on.'"

Reuters AlertNet - Tsunami: Six Months Later
$30 Million in Aid Provided, Intense Ongoing Efforts

Reuters AlertNet - Tsunami: Six Months Later
$30 Million in Aid Provided, Intense Ongoing Efforts
: "Tsunami: Six Months Later
$30 Million in Aid Provided, Intense Ongoing Efforts
24 Jun 2005 23:43:00 GMT

Source: NGO latest
Direct Relief International




Background GRAPHIC: Tsunami donors get mixed 'generosity' ranking


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Direct Relief International (DRI) - USA
Website: http://www.directrelief.org
California organization has furnished 126 tons of essential medical material, including 3 million courses of treatment to region�s survivors. Over $5.6 million in cash grants to meet emergency needs and jumpstart long-term improvements
June 24, 2005, Santa Barbara, Calif. � Six months after the South Asian tsunami on December 26, 2004, Direct Relief International has furnished over $30 million in direct aid to the region and remains intensely involved in efforts to address both current and long-term needs. "

Friday, June 24, 2005

The Globe and Mail: Canadian relief for tsunamis still only flowing in a trickle

The Globe and Mail: Canadian relief for tsunamis still only flowing in a trickle: "OTTAWA -- Six months after the devastating tsunami that washed away hundreds of Indian Ocean coastal communities, the Canadian government's aid agency has signed only two contracts for reconstruction projects, worth a total of $9-million.
One is a water-supply project in Indonesia and the other involves training construction "

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Reuters AlertNet - Big tsunami donors rank poorly in generosity league

Reuters AlertNet - Big tsunami donors rank poorly in generosity league: "Big tsunami donors rank poorly in generosity league
23 Jun 2005 13:28:00 GMT

Source: Reuters
By Tim Large

LONDON (Reuters) - In the weeks following the Asian tsunami, Chuck Simmons squirreled himself away in his home in Rochester, New York, scouring the Internet for any scrap of evidence to document American generosity after the disaster.
From corporate fundraisers to Salvation Army 'kettle campaigns', he spent more than 100 hours tallying up almost 1,000 private donations for 'The Stingy List', an online aid ledger published on his personal blog (http://blog.simmins.org).
'I stopped updating the list when American private contributions exceeded a billion dollars,' Simmons, a 49-year-old businessman, said in a telephone interview. "

SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Society | UK charities 'unaffected' by tsunami appeal

SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Society | UK charities 'unaffected' by tsunami appeal: "UK charities 'unaffected' by tsunami appeal

David Callaghan
Thursday June 23, 2005

The massive response to the tsunami relief appeal has not affected the income of most other charities, according to a report.

Charities were concerned when the tsunami appeal was at its height in December and January that they would suffer significant losses in cash as the public channelled their money away from traditional charities and donated to the tsunami appeal."

SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Society | �400m raised after tsunami

SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Society | �400m raised after tsunami: "400m raised after tsunami

Press Association
Thursday June 23, 2005
The Guardian

An unprecedented public response to the Asian tsunami disaster has raised �400m for the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.
The Boxing Day tragedy killed about 300,000 people, with half-a-million more displaced in Indonesia alone. "

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Tsunami brings out Big Four's charitable side - Personal Computer World

Tsunami brings out Big Four's charitable side - Personal Computer World: "Tsunami brings out Big Four's charitable side
As the clean-up in the Indian Ocean continues, firms are providing free accountancy services vital to the aid effort
Alan Osborn, Accountancy Age 22 Jun 2005
ADVERTISEMENT
Accountants are suddenly being held in high esteem and it�s all because of their work in connection with the relief effort for victims of the Boxing Day tsunami.
To date, some �4.7bn has been raised worldwide for the stricken countries, but nothing like that sum has reached the people affected. This is why the Big Four firms have provided staff, management and professional advice and training � a good deal of it on a pro-bono basis.
�It is tremendous news,� says Alex Jacobs, director of the charity Mango, which works to strengthen the financial management of non-governmental organisations and aid agencies."

A quarter of Swiss tsunami donations allocated�(eng, NZZ Online)

A quarter of Swiss tsunami donations allocated�(eng, NZZ Online): "A quarter of Swiss tsunami donations allocated
Six months after the devastating tsunami in southeast Asia, Swiss Solidarity has already spent or earmarked SFr70 million ($55 million) for relief work.

The charity, which is the fundraising arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, swissinfo's parent company, received record donations of SFr224 million.
Swiss Solidarity and its partner organisations have already put SFr56 million into use for relief work. Further projects worth almost SFr14 million are currently being processed.
To date, Swiss Solidarity has cooperated with 14 Swiss relief organisations and their local partners"

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Save the Children: A Vision Amid the Tsunami Wreckage"

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Save the Children: A Vision Amid the Tsunami Wreckage": "Save the Children: A Vision Amid the Tsunami Wreckage
6/21/2005 4:00:00 PM



To: National Desk and Opinion Editor
Contact: Mike Kiernan of Save the Children, 202-261-4686 or mkiernan@dc.savechildren.org
WASHINGTON, June 21 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following commentary by Charles MacCormack was released today by Save the Children on the 6th month anniversary of the recent tsunami: A Vision Amid the Wreckage
By Charles MacCormack
If you were swept away by a tsunami, clinging to life on a flimsy piece of wood amid the surging water and wreckage, what image would help you to survive? For nine-year-old Sri Rahmawati, of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, it was an image of a golden orb against a blue background. It reminded her, she says, of heaven. "

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Taiwan News Online-Jealousy, competition ruin Sri Lanka village

Taiwan News Online: "Jealousy, competition ruin Sri Lanka village

Six months after tsunami disaster, people become feisty over who gets what and when
2005-06-21 / Associated Press / By Tim Sullivan

It was different, people here will tell you, in those first few days after the ocean came roaring over the horizon and slammed into Peraliya, driving trees and boulders through the village at 800 kilometers per hour and leaving behind more grief than anyone would have thought possible.
Tsunami survivors shared water, food and what medicine they could scrounge. Some passed shovels back and forth, searching for survivors. Others stared at one battered, bloated corpse after another, trying to figure out which body belonged to which family."

Friday, June 17, 2005

Woman Proves Small Can Be Better in Aceh - New York Times

Woman Proves Small Can Be Better in Aceh - New York Times: "Woman Proves Small Can Be Better in Aceh
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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 17, 2005
Filed at 2:51 a.m. ET
LAMREH, Indonesia (AP) -- Standing on a hillside overlooking the bay, Lily Kasoem points to workers laying the foundation for a school in this village decimated by the tsunami. Nearby, a bulldozer has cleared pine forest for some of the 200 homes her organization is building.
''In Jakarta, you'd pay a million for this,'' said Kasoem, admiring the postcard views where her Soroptimists International of Jakarta is building the houses. ''These people will getting them for free.''
The task seems typical of thousands of projects that have popped up in the six months since the Asian tsunami smashed into the coast of Aceh province and international aid groups poured in. Except for one thing -- this 56-year-old optometrist planned it almost single-handedly."

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Final Stage of tsunami appeal research underway(UK)

content: "Final stage of tsunami appeal research underway02/06/05
The final stage of research into the impact of the tsunami appeal was been launched yesterday by the Institute of Fundraising (Institute), and all UK fundraising organisations are invited to participate.
The first stage of the research project assessed the short-term impact and found that 45% of charities think the tsunami appeal will have a negative impact on their organisation. It appears that the size of the organisation played a key role in how the impact was viewed with only 24%"

Americans and Tsunami Response: New Survey Results

Americans and Tsunami Response: New Survey Results: "Americans and Tsunami Response: New Survey Results
Americans responded eagerly to the tragic December 2004 tsunami. Boston University students release results of a survey that studies how Americans learned of the devastation, how much they gave and how effective they believe their donations were.
Boston, MA (PRWEB) June 2, 2005 -- The unprecedented devastation in the Indian Ocean in the closing days of 2004 created an international call for aid and charitable donations. Americans responded by the millions. A new survey designed and fielded by students at Boston University's College of Communication explores how Americans responded and finds that 46% -- nearly half -- of adults gave an average of $174 per household to help tsunami aid efforts. All told, Americans donated nearly $1.5 billion in private aid, according to an InterAction report released in May.

This student-led study examined five different elements of America's response to the tsunami:

- Donor demographics. Surprisingly, a younger, less affluent group of donors rose to fund tsunami aid than normally participate in charitable giving. For example, the youngest donors gave an average of $324 each, nearly five times that of the oldest donors."

ReliefWeb � Document Preview � Aussie donors rebuild lives

ReliefWeb � Document Preview � Aussie donors rebuild lives: "Aussie donors rebuild livesAustralian aid non-government organisations (NGOs) made a major impact in helping hundreds of thousands of tsunami survivors, according to Paul O�Callaghan, Executive Director of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID).
By 31 March 2005, 31 organisations had received A$280 million in donations from the Australian public to assist tsunami survivors. (NB: This rose to A$313 by mid-May.)
Paul O�Callaghan said, �These donations enabled immediate emergency relief work to begin. As a result, many survivors were able to obtain quick access to basic life necessities, including food, clean water, clothing, temporary shelter, sanitation and access to health care and trauma counselling. This undoubtedly saved many thousands of lives.� "

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

ReliefWeb � Document Preview � Joint press conference - Launch of tsunami response Quarterly Report

ReliefWeb � Document Preview � Joint press conference - Launch of tsunami response Quarterly Report: "Joint press conference - Launch of tsunami response Quarterly ReportJoint Press Conference
Launch of Tsunami Response Quarterly Report
by Minister for Foreign Affairs the Hon. Alexander Downer, MP with the Hon. Bruce Billson MP Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Paul O�Callaghan CEO Australian Council for International Development, Robert Tickner Secretary General Australian Red Cross, Robert Glasser CEO CARE Australia, Jack de Groot National Director Caritas, Andrew Hewett Executive Director Oxfam Australia.
CHAIR: The Minister and Mr Billson have agreed to stay on and answer a few questions. Rather than keep coming to the lectern, we might ask you to direct your questions initially to the Minister in the first instance and we'll take it from there. Thank you very much. "