I’ve been really moved by how quickly people rallied to help Japan following the earthquake. But I was troubled to learn that of the $1 billion the Red Cross has collected, $0 has been distributed directly to quake victims, according to the Los Angeles Times. Huh?! OK yes, the Red Cross has dispatched over 200 emergency relief teams, but there’s currently a pot of 870 billion yen collected by the Japanese Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Central Community Chest of Japan…sitting there, waiting to get distributed. Apparently they want to figure out what each victim’s fair share should be, so it’s taking really long for them to decide who gets how much. Arg, the pains of bureaucracies.
If this is making you rethink donating, please read Emily’s insightful article on how to donate smartly. She’s also organized an amazing Facebook campaign called JustOneCrane (see donation box on the right!). 1000 cranes, 1000 bucks to help heal Japan. It’s so awesome to see cranes coming in from around the world. Here’s mine:
Pretty proud of myself, since I haven’t really done origami since I was a little kid. Please join her campaign HERE!
(Thanks, Gil!)
