Best way to help with the relief effort is to donate money rather than

[truthseeker1]

If you want to help out, best way is to donate money rather than send goods - this note is from my Sri Lankan friend:

I just received a reply from one of my friends in the NGO community and am forwarding it on to all of you.

"....while I don't want to diminish the value of giving clothes and supplies to the churches in the US to ship to Sri Lanka, these donations have a cost - transportation - that is quite high and is incurred by the churches or other organizations. It also takes time to organize shipping of the supplies, and often donations of clothes are not the right size or weight (winter clothes get sent regularly to tropical areas). If you can, it is more efficient to make a donation in any amount to an organization like Doctors Without Borders (www.doctorswithoutborder.org) or OXFAM (www.oxfam.org) or another NGO that is already on the ground and airlifting supplies and medical assistance. These organizations accept donations by debit or credit card on their website, they have cargo planes that are shipping supplies as we speak, and they use the money to buy exactly what is needed in terms of supplies - plastic sheets for shelter, medical supplies, climate-appropriate clothing, and so forth. After almost twenty years of working in developing countries, I can speak for both Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, as well as CARE, and tell you that these NGOs are effective and trustworthy. Meshki, you are right - we have to get the word out and the people in the US have to get involved. I hope we all do what we can for the people affected by this tragedy."

[Skittles]

1. I chose to donate to Doctors Without Borders yesterday

I will research OXFAM and CARE for my next donation.

I agree that we ALL NEED TO GET INVOLVED - people, send 'em what you can. If you can spare even just five bucks DO IT. This is a major disaster and every dollar counts.

[progdonkey]

2. just a note...

your DWB link is missing an "s."

Thanks for the info. I'm just about to donate to DWB now (my sister donated to the RC yesterday).

[truthseeker1]

3. oh, thanks - my editing time has expired or I would change it