Tsunami Update 1: Foodies Help

By JULIETTE ROSSANT [Updated in "Tsunami Update 2: Race Against More Death"] First of all, hurray for Foodies of good heart! My website tracking shows scores of people flowing through my previous report "2004 Tsunami: How Foodies Can Help" and out through that page, which indicates to me that they are going direclty to make online donations. BBC has confirmed that blogs are helping. I will thank fellow Food bloggers at the end of this article: right now, I am tracking hits from countries that encircle the region, so we are being effective -- now we need to increase the momentum. News Update: - Death Toll: The Red Cross prediction yesterday was right: the death toll in Indonesia alone shot up to over 80,000 over the past 24 hours, mostly from the core quake region of Aceh. Add 25,000 from Sri Lanka and you're already close to the 114,000 dead proclaimed at this hour by the BBC -- sorry, that's 120,000, just in from Reuters since I started writing. - American Assistance: US Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman announced the formation of an international coalition between the US, Australia, Japan, and India as well as plans to increase financial aid from $35 million -- to an undisclosed amount, according to The New York Times. Links for News Updates: - Tsunami Updates - News Hour updates - UNDP - Tsunami updates - ReliefWeb updates Donations - Start Counting: Several news organizations have contacted me, amazed that Food blogs could leverage the Internet to drive donations. They are asking for donation count, so to prove our effectiveness, I'm asking that when you make a donation, please return to this site and leave a comment about whom you gave to and how much, like this: Recipient - "ABC". Amount - "XYZ." (You need not leave your name or contacts, though you are welcome to -- Muslim victims will admire you all the more for anonymity, as Islam believes that "credit" in Heaven is dependent on humility on Earth.) Don't doubt the need: CTV Canada is reporting that aid workers are already overwhelmed with the extent of destruction, even after the initial outpouring of donations. Donations - Recommendations: The big question right now is whether to send money for medicine or food: I say, send both. Donations - Medical Aid: My personal recommendation for medical remains strongly Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) -- on BBC radio online, I just heard MSF "commandos" talk about landing in one country and heading straight out for the islands to start logistics. MSF are tops, no doubt about it. Here are links to them, again, for immediate online donations: - MSF global donation links - MSF USA donations - MSF Canada donations - MSF UK donations - MSF France donations - MSF Hong Kong donations - MSF UAE donations - Red Cross donations - CARE USA donations - CARE Canada donations - The Economist list - New York Times list - BBC list - ABC World News Tonight list Donations - Food Aid: As for food aid, my experience and observations point toward UNICEF. First, UNICEF targets children, the main victims of this catastrophe. Second, UNICEF has offices all over that region. Third, UNICEF came forward early and so seems eager (if not ready) to channel efforts. Here are links to UNICEF, for immediate online donations. I am listing all UNICEF country offices with online donation sites here, since otherwise you have to hunt around their various sites to do the same: - UNICEF USA online donations - UNICEF Canada online donations - UNICEF Canada don en ligne - UNICEF New Zealand online donations - UNICEF Australia online donations - UNICEF UK online donations - UNICEF Spain donativos on-line - UNICEF Austria Online-Spende - UNICEF Germany Online-Spende - UNICEF Belgium Noodhulp SOS Kinderen van Azie - UNICEF Belgium Urgence SOS Enfants d'Asie - UNICEF France don en ligne - UNICEF Denmark Hjælp katastroferamte børn - BBC list of aid links Victims - How To Contact: Although only 12 Americans are reported dead (though thousands missing) according to CNN, our blogs span the globe via Internet, so here are links to expedite the contacting of victims: - Tsunami Missing Persons - BBC Missing Persons Message Board - TsunamiHelp Thanks - Fellow Food Blogs: Last but not least, the following Food blogs linked back as I requested to superchefblog's previous article "2004 Tsunami: How Foodies Can Help": - Smallbites - Pinkcocoa Tabetai - Pilgrim's Pots & Pans - le Hamburger et le Croissant Other Food bloggers have been posting as well on the Tsunami, and their articles include: - Tsunami help, Forensic experts needed on Chez Pim - Tsunami Help Blog on Chez Pim - Tsunami relief on Chez Pim - Cooking for Tsunami Victims in India on shiokadelicious! - Thank You for Your Concern on shiokadelicious! - South Asia Earthquake And Tsunami Relief on Seattle Bon Vivant - Tsunami Relief on Tomatilla! - Please Help The Quake And Tsunami Victims on Cheat Eat - South-East Asia Earthquake on Via Ritiro N.7 Diary As for you others bloggers, Food and non-Food, and emailers, please continue to link to superchefblog articles and to those carried by others (which superchefblog is linking to reciprocally). As Lucy explains in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, "These five fingers individually are nothing, but when I curl them together into a single unit, they are a fight force terrible to behold!" Let us be terribly effective together, as good men and women. This catastrophe dwarfs 9/11. The situation in Iraq is a silly sideshow compared to the death and destruction wreaked by the 2004 Tsunami. Don't give a lot at any one time, but give often. I will come back on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to update you on the situation in the region and to let you know where help is needed and how. The Media, you can be sure, will drop this news rather quickly, but as a former head of OxFam UK said on BBC radio this morning, the effects of this crisis will continue for weeks, months, and years. If you can imagine that you were one of the victims, then you will understand why it is important to donate -- not quantity from a few, but vast sums from many, which is what superchefblog is trying to help achieve. Please help -- and please do not tire as this issue resurfaces again and again on superchefblog. There is only one long-term strategy for this strategy: give a little as you can, over time. A mere $5 per week -- a bit off of groceries or meals eaten out -- for the next year would cost you some $250 for 2005: what better New Year's Resolution can there be? (By the way, as soon as I posted yesterday, I used my own article to make a donation to MSF USA. And I will be donating weekly, as I recommended. "Practice what you preach.") Related articles: - Tsunami Update 2: Race Against More Death (December 31, 2004) - 2004 Tsunami: How Foodies Can Help (December 29, 2004)