As you might have seen in the news, Japan was hit hard by an earthquake of magnitude 8.9 on March 11 (JST) followed by a massive Tsunami causing widespread devastation killing thousands of people and injuring many more beyond belief. Soon after the earthquake, concerns were shown over nuclear facilities in Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, as if the destruction by earthquake and tsunami wasn’t enough for Nature. Many organisations, individuals, etc across the globe are reacting to this calamity and doing their bit by donating for those affected in this natural disaster. Google, a search engine, has been quick to react and set up a crisis center for 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami. Using Google Person Finder tool below you can search for any person in the earthquake affected areas or give information about any person.
{Image Source: BBC UK}
Through this article I want you to take some time out of your daily schedule and pray for the well being of citizens of Japan as well as the foreign national’s who are still missing or feared dead. You can also help them by donating money to Japanese Red Cross Society, it won’t hurt to spare few bucks out of your income (or from pocket money). Google has put up a donation button on it’s Japan Crisis page and the same can be used to donate any amount to Japanese Red Cross society, this is the safest way to send money considering the fact that it is being run by Google itself.
Link to 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami Donation Page
Other than donating money you can:
- Tie up with a NGO, collect clothes, (other items of use) etc and send them to earthquake, tsunami affected area’s. But make sure that the NGO is legit and that the items, whatever is being sent, reaches area’s affected well in time.
- Spread the word and write about the quake affected areas on your blog, magazine, etc and invite the readers to contribute towards the cause.
- A word of mouth asking your dear friends, relatives, neighbors, etc to donate some money.
- If you are blogger/site owner using Google adsense then you can donate your earnings to the Red Cross Society.
For a moment think as a citizen of this earth and help Japanese return to their normal self.
More information on latest happenings in Japan can be obtained directly from Google Crisis Center.
That was an eye opener :O
I thought Japanese government and Red Cross were proactive on this issue but your comment contradicts that. Though it takes time to streamline distribution of funds to those affected but reaching out to them after 1-3 months of misery is not acceptable. Besides, more than money the relief organisations should concentrate on distributing basic necessities that what the victims need.
And I appreciate your friend who has volunteered to help fellow citizens. People like your friend are the motivating factors indeed.
I’ve been searching the web about donation to save current Japanese victim by this earthquake and tidal wave, because Red Cross in Japan is holding on to that money and until now they can’t distribute it yet. In previous earthquakes in Japan, Japan Red Cross distributed the money to individuals after 1 to 3 months, and the way they gave was one death in family how much, one house destroyed how much, and so on. It means they don’t use it to buy relief goods or any relief to save the situation now. I’m still searching more, but it seems like if you want to help the current situation, you have to go directly to the area, or find a friend who can go, or find a organization who’s doing the actual work and donate directly. Japanese government is not acting to gather information from several areas affected, or if they do, they don’t centralize to share the information to others. My friend who was a victim, but her house was saved adopted 4 old people who lost houses, and she goes around to gather old clothes from neighbors and bring them to evacuation center near by. But if you ask Japanese government, they only accept brand new clothes.