Ten years after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, well-meaning Americans are still making a basic mistake in helping disaster victims. Following the 2004 tsunami, donations, supplies and equipment flooded into the region. They were often ill advised and inappropriate:
• Tents donated to the homeless were too hot; • Foreign rice gave survivors stomach problems;• People keen to help collected clothes, blankets and other goods. However, transportation costs were prohibitively expensive and required complex planning.
People affected by the events lost their livelihoods – they really needed help with boats, nets and motors to rebuild their lives. People half a world away felt go about “doing something” but in reality, they made a tricky situation even messier.
Lesson not yet learned: generosity should be directed to fundraising and donating to relief organizations that will provide the right help to the right people.
A short summary interview with Tricia Wachendorf and James Kendra, with tsunami images is available here: http://youtu.be/e3nf40EmasY
This can be downloaded and used freely.
Contact [email protected] to arrange an interview.