General Info

Amanut, I couldn't find the exact website I was in yesterday but Pip Jaeger posted some excellent sources below. The 'Mercy Corp' name is where I think I saw a way for medical personnel to volunteer but I couldn't find the page this time. The link Pip posted for Doctors Without Borders seems like a better source anyway and they actually pay a small stipend.

Thanks to all who have posted links to relief organizations. I donated to Catholic Relief Services and want to provide a link for that.

[url]https://secure.crs.org/site/Donation2?df_id=6140&6140.donation=form1[/url]

The Salvation Army supposedly commits 100% of funding to relief efforts and could also be considered a good place to donate.

[url]https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/TyphoonHaiyan[/url]

You can also donate $10 by texting TYPHOON to 80888 and reply 'yes' to confirm your donation. That service is available on Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile subscribers and goes to the Salvation Army.

I didn't expect to see this many responses to my query and perhaps I should have started a new thread. It is heartening to see so many of you (me too) despicable sinners opening your wallets to help people affected by Typhoon Haiyan. Father Cobb would be proud.

[QUOTE=OralFanatic;1495356]The PI may not be quite up to the level of the US for emergency preparedness, but they didn't do too badly with Haiyan. They did manage to evacuate 800, 000 people in advance of the storm although some were not moved inland far enough. Many of those who died, tragically, were warned to leave but did not. The US had roughly 1, 800 people killed by Katrina, a storm milder than Haiyan, so I think the authorities in the PI deserve a LOT of credit for saving lives with far less resources and infrastructure than what the US has. Americans (I am one) are in no position to lecture others.[/QUOTE]I agree that we Americans can be quite arrogant about these things. But as to the Philippines being third most vulnerable, that assessment came from the Germans, with help from the UN and Nature Conservancy. In the report the Philippines is noted for its "exposure" to hazards, but its vulnerability is also due to "lack of coping capacities" and "lack of adaptive strategies." Here is an English language version of the Germans' report.

[url]http://www.ehs.unu.edu/file/get/10487.pdf[/url]

Calculations are shown on p 64.

Here's a link to one of three front page stories from today's New York Times. The simple fact is that this countries lacks the planes, the supplies and other equipment necessary to provide massive relief, so most of the heavy lifting seems to get done by the international community. For all it's vaunted economic growth it seems the country hasn't yet gotten around to buying the supplies and equipment it needs or to building adequate infrastructure.

[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/world/asia/concerns-grow-over-pace-of-aid-to-philippines.html?ref=international-home[/url]

GE

[QUOTE=Skip Kost; 1495408]In the report the Philippines is noted for its "exposure" to hazards, but its vulnerability is also due to "lack of coping capacities" and "lack of adaptive strategies." Here is an English language version of the Germans' report.

[url]http://www.ehs.unu.edu/file/get/10487.pdf[/url]

Calculations are shown on p 64.[/QUOTE]Could have added to that list the endemic corruption of politicians (vis a vis the pork barrel scam) in which so many have allegedly stolen the cash that was destined for other matters. While it would not have stopped the typhoon it could have helped alleviate issues (was reading something about infrastructrure) and there would be plenty of cash in the pot to help survivors. But of course there is not.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough; 1495413]Here's a link to one of three front page stories from today's New York Times. The simple fact is that this countries lacks the planes, the supplies and other equipment necessary to provide massive relief, so most of the heavy lifting seems to get done by the international community. For all it's vaunted economic growth it seems the country hasn't yet gotten around to buying the supplies and equipment it needs or to building adequate infrastructure.

[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/world/asia/concerns-grow-over-pace-of-aid-to-philippines.html?ref=international-home[/url]

GE[/QUOTE]The article doesn't highlight how deficient the Philippines is. In a disaster a C-130 becomes the workhorse to bring in the needed supplies and personnel; the Philippines has three. Three?!? On a good day. Usually only one is airworthy. Often in an emergency those that aren't airworthy are pressed into service.

Given how important airports are I have to wonder why many are covered in tin roofs. Pretty much guarantees the airport will be destroyed.

[QUOTE=Hutsori; 1495455]The article doesn't highlight how deficient the Philippines is. In a disaster a C-130 becomes the workhorse to bring in the needed supplies and personnel; the Philippines has three. Three? On a good day. Usually only one is airworthy. Often in an emergency those that aren't airworthy are pressed into service.

Given how important airports are I have to wonder why many are covered in tin roofs. Pretty much guarantees the airport will be destroyed.[/QUOTE]To Hustsori.

The Philipipines government are good at dragging their feet when helping their own people, they should just sent in the Army on Helicopter and ship bring in supply and water, they are waiting for donation from other country and see how much they can pocket, most of the relief agency like red cross and Salvation army if you donate money only less than half will get to the people that need it, US will commit 20 mil USD to the Philippines relief hope the money will go to helping the people not to Aquino pocket.

Fast Eddie 48

This massive typhoon Haiyan may well be one of the worst natural disaster this century for the poor island country of the Phil. It was a cat 4 compared to hurricane Katrina against New Orleans, which was a cat 3. The pictures of bloated dead bodies are shocking, just like the Tsunami that happened to the Adaman sea.

I am a soft touch. I cannot forget all the fun times and tender moments I spent with the nice, sweet girls of the Philippines. Their pains are my pains.

Below are sites to make direct donations to typhoon Haiyan:

[url]http://news.yahoo.com/how-to-help-do.195111618.html[/url]

They take credit / debit cards on line so you don't have to bother mailing.

I understand some non-profit charities are just pork barrels for their highly-paid executives to loot and fatten themselves. Some charities send very low percentages of donations to relieve victims, but pay their executives outrageous salaries. You need to concentrate your hard-earned donations on those charities that will benefit victims the most.

Below are the ratings of the best ones:

[url]http://www.charitynavigator.org/inde.3#.UoKL-_k_slI[/url]

Rank Charity Overall Score.

1 Globus Relief 69. 95

2 Matthew 25: Ministries 69. 95

3 Books For Africa 69. 94

4 Project C. U. R. E. 69. 92

5 Direct Relief 69. 90

6 Midwest Food Bank 69. 89

7 Step Up For Students 69. 88

8 Charities Aid Foundation America 69. 85

9 American Endowment Foundation 69. 85

10 Medical Teams International 69. 83

DIRECT RELIEF ranks as top 5 and is appealing for donations to the Phil. I urge the bros to send their donations via DIRECT RELIEF:

[url]https://forgood.yahoo.com/donate/67/news[/url]

Sorry. Posted in manila thread in error

Rarely see destruction in such large scale:

[url]http://news.yahoo.com/photos/typhoon-ravaged-philippine-islands-slideshow/[/url]

[QUOTE=LukeSkywalker;1495597]I understand some non-profit charities are just pork barrels for their highly-paid executives to loot and fatten themselves. Some charities send very low percentages of donations to relieve victims, but pay their executives outrageous salaries. You need to concentrate your hard-earned donations on those charities that will benefit victims the most.[/QUOTE]You're right, many of them are. It's best to check to see what their admin cost and fundraising percentages are. I recall reading somewhere that for US based charities it can not exceed 35% (combined) of all moneys received, but that's still a rather high figure IMHO. Whenever possible I personally prefer to make a direct contribution of goods or, if donating cash, I seek out a charity with a very low admin / fundraising percentage of not more then 20% (combined).

I was having this very same discussion with one of my girls on Monday (after my last post) and she informed of the relief effort being made here by Comcast Cable, specifically the ABS-CBN News network, where 100% of the cash donations received are being used to purchase goods and pay for the transport to get it to the affected areas. They are taking cash donations via text, online, phone in pledges as well as direct donations at their stations and they are also accepting direct donations of goods, what they call "In Hand" donations, at all of their stations / offices as well as a couple of distribution / logistic centers they've set up around the islands, with the primary one being located in Quezon City.

So if you're here in the Phils you can do what I did, even if you have a small budget I'm sure you can spare enough for a couple of kilos of rice or a few boxes of energy bars. I decided to make a donation of food and personal hygiene items, but as my budget may be a little more then many of the cheap charlies who visit I hired a mini-van from a taxi service and went to a local a SM Hypermarket. BTW, to show you how lovely the people are here, once the driver found out what my intent was, he not only refused any payment, but also helped at the store and happily pitched in with the loading and unloading. The driver also suggested we first speak to the SM store manager, which we did. I told him my budget and we made up a list. The manager rounded up a couple of stock boys, who went and loaded up the carts with the provisions and then help load the van for us as well. Also, after making a brief phone call to his regional manager for consent, the store manager provided all of the goods at cost; so I was able to get more supplies for the amount I was donating.

Links to the Comcast donation sites:

[url]http://xfinity.comcast.net/blogs/tv/2013/11/11/typhoon-yolanda-relief-and-contact-information/[/url]

[url]http://www.gmanetwork.com/international/articles/2013-11-11/214/GMA-Kapuso-Foundation-Calls-for-Donation.[/url]

And of course a link to the ABS-CBN news site, which has been providing excellent coverage! :

[url]http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/[/url]

Some great shared information here on how individuals can best help the Philippines.

Also encouraging is the way many countries have rapidly offered help. The Philippines is primarily a catholic country. I will be interested to see how much the Vatican will give (return) to the Philippines in addition to giving prayers.

KongKing

[QUOTE=KongKing; 1495646]Some great shared information here on how individuals can best help the Philippines.

Also encouraging is the way many countries have rapidly offered help. The Philippines is primarily a catholic country. I will be interested to see how much the Vatican will give (return) to the Philippines in addition to giving prayers.

KongKing[/QUOTE]So will I. As the third largest landholder in the country one would expect them to be on a par in their generousity with SM / Ayalas etc. But no doubt, they will say " we helped people to pray ".

This is after all, the one and only corporation in the Philippines that is allowed to pay ZERO, yes ZERO tax on all its substantial revenues.

They go directly an untouched to Rome.

The current Presidents mother let that happen, and god fearing Gloria continued it.

[QUOTE=Wicked Roger;1495414]Could have added to that list the endemic corruption of politicians (vis a vis the pork barrel scam) in which so many have allegedly stolen the cash that was destined for other matters. While it would not have stopped the typhoon it could have helped alleviate issues (was reading something about infrastructrure) and there would be plenty of cash in the pot to help survivors. But of course there is not.[/QUOTE]The Germans did include that. I misstated the facts in the previous post. In addition to "Exposure" (severity and frequency of earthquakes, floods, cyclones, and sea level rise) , there are actually three capacity indicators. They are:

Susceptibility.

+ Indicator A: Share of population without access to improved sanitation.

+ Indicator B: Share of population without access to clean water.

+ Indicator C: Share of population undernourished.

+ Indicator D: Share of under 15- and over 65-year-olds in the working population.

+ Indicator F: Gross domestic product per capita (purchasing power parity)

+ Indicator G: Gini index; a measure of income inequality.

Coping capacities.

+ Indicator A: Perception of corruption.

+ Indicator B: Good governance.

+ Indicator C: Number of physicians per 10, 000 inhabitants.

+ Indicator D: Number of hospital beds per 10, 000 inhabitants

+ Indicator E: Insurances.

Adaptive capacities.

+ Indicator A: Adult literacy rate.

+ Indicator B: Combined gross school enrolment.

+ Indicator C: Gender parity in education.

+ Indicator D: Share of female representatives in the National Parliament

+ Indicator E: Water resources.

+ Indicator F: Biodiversity and habitat protection.

+ Indicator G: Forest management.

+ Indicator H: Agricultural management

+ Indicator I: Public health expenditure

+ Indicator J: Life expectancy.

+ Indicator K: Private health expenditure.

Obviously nobody wants to give to nonprofit organizations that pay disproportionately high executive salaries or whose fundraising costs exceed their program expenditures. But it is also possible to overdo the emphasis on "efficiency." I am surprised that Charity Navigator still promotes the relative proportions of funds going to overhead and program, respectively, since its leader loudly pronounced a few years ago that 'overhead ratios and executive salaries are useless for evaluating a nonprofit's impact. '

[url]http://blogs.hbr.org/2009/12/charity-navigator-fixes-its-compass/[/url]

Critics have pointed out that these single indicators are suspect for a number of reasons.

[url]http://www.philanthropyjournal.org/news/studies-slam-charity-watchdogs[/url]%e2%80%99-ratings.

Maybe it makes more sense to do a little additional research about the performance of some of these charities rather than trust exclusively this one simple, often misleading, indicator. It strikes me that a few of the posts about specific charities have been based on personal experience. I would sooner hear recommendations from some of the thoughtful people on the forum than put all my eggs in the Charity Navigator "efficiency" calculation. And keep in mind that the principal charity watchdogs-Charity Watch, Charity Navigator, and Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance-have their own ideological axes to grind, as do most of the charities.

Pip is quite a compassionate bro.

I applaud his personal involvement in the relief of typhoon Haiyan victims.

When I come back to the Phil, will PM you, perhaps buy you a few drinks.

Take care and good luck!

[QUOTE=Pip Jaeger; 1495612]I was having this very same discussion with one of my girls on Monday (after my last post) and she informed of the relief effort being made here by Comcast Cable, specifically the ABS-CBN News network, where 100% of the cash donations received are being used to purchase goods and pay for the transport to get it to the affected areas. They are taking cash donations via text, online, phone in pledges as well as direct donations at their stations and they are also accepting direct donations of goods, what they call "In Hand" donations, at all of their stations / offices as well as a couple of distribution / logistic centers they've set up around the islands, with the primary one being located in Quezon City.

So if you're here in the Phils you can do what I did, even if you have a small budget I'm sure you can spare enough for a couple of kilos of rice or a few boxes of energy bars. I decided to make a donation of food and personal hygiene items, but as my budget may be a little more then many of the cheap charlies who visit I hired a mini-van from a taxi service and went to a local a SM Hypermarket. BTW, to show you how lovely the people are here, once the driver found out what my intent was, he not only refused any payment, but also helped at the store and happily pitched in with the loading and unloading. The driver also suggested we first speak to the SM store manager, which we did. I told him my budget and we made up a list. The manager rounded up a couple of stock boys, who went and loaded up the carts with the provisions and then help load the van for us as well. Also, after making a brief phone call to his regional manager for consent, the store manager provided all of the goods at cost; so I was able to get more supplies for the amount I was donating.

Links to the Comcast donation sites:

[url]http://xfinity.comcast.net/blogs/tv/2013/11/11/typhoon-yolanda-relief-and-contact-information/[/url]

[url]http://www.gmanetwork.com/international/articles/2013-11-11/214/GMA-Kapuso-Foundation-Calls-for-Donation.[/url]

And of course a link to the ABS-CBN news site, which has been providing excellent coverage! :

[url]http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/[/url][/QUOTE]

Never seen a report like before in a local newspaper during a major crisis. Speaking to many pinoys etc, they agree with the sentiments of the article and wonder when the allegded pork barrel senators will come and offer cash and aid- well one is in the USA.

[url]http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/526693/cnn-bbc-intl-media-slam-aquino-for-disorganized-yolanda-aid-response[/url]

Same sort of article on Yanoo Philippines.