How Canadians can help victims of the Japan quake and tsunami
Just hours after a devastating earthquake hit Japan, Canadians have already donated $77,000 to help victims.
The Canadian Red Cross is reaching out online and through social media to raise funds for victims of the catastrophic quake.
The Canadian Red Cross says volunteers on the ground in Japan have been working around the clock to support local emergency-response efforts, including evacuation, search and rescue, and first aid.
The organization has set up a webpage to handle donations specifically aimed at helping victims of the earthquake and tsunami. Donations can also be made by calling toll free at 1-800-418-1111.
James Astleford, donor-relations director for ADRA Canada, a humanitarian agency established by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, said his organization has representatives in Japan working with stranded residents and is keeping an eye on countries in the south Pacific region that could also be affected by the tsunami.
“With a 10-metre tsunami, many of these countries could be in danger,” Astleford told the Star. “These countries don’t have the same financial resilience that Japan has. So in our fundraising right now, we’re asking for support for the Japan quake and Pacific tsunami.”
The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee has set up a Japan donation website as well and says it is working with partners on the ground to determine what role its volunteers can play.
Donations to CRWRC can also be made by calling 1-800-730-3490.
Oxfam Canada says it is in a position to respond to any potential tsunami damage in the Philippines, Indonesia, Tuvalu and Samoa.
“We have several teams and partner organizations in the region that are following the situation on the ground,” Daniel Gorevan, humanitarian spokesman at Oxfam, said in a statement. “Given that these states are low-lying, with populations are spread out over many islands, even relatively small waves have the potential to be very damaging and could complicate any humanitarian response.”
Médicins Sans Frontières says two teams of three people are trying to reach the worst-hit areas in Japan’s Iwate and Miyagi prefectures.
“The MSF teams, composed of medical and logistics personnel, will try to reach the area by helicopter,” said spokeswoman Naomi Sutorius-Lavoie in an email. “Once there, the two teams will liaise with local emergency-response authorities to assess medical needs. Another 25 MSF medical and logistical staff in Japan are on standby to respond once the situation has been assessed.”
UNICEF says it has already positioned supplies and personnel in countries throughout the Pacific region and is ready to provide assistance to those on tsunami watch.
Plan International Canada said it has an emergency-response team on standby in Indonesia, where it has a warehouse stocked with 5,000 family kits available for immediate distribution.
It has also deployed assessment teams to the Philippines, and staff is already starting to evacuate people from low-lying areas of the country, the organization said Friday.
World Vision Canada has also set up a webpage to solicit donations to provide disaster relief for victims of the earthquake.
UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, a group that supports IsraAid, an Israel-based humanitarian organization sending teams of rescue personnel, emergency medical officers and water pollution purification specialists to Japan, is also accepting donations here.
With files from The Canadian Press
Links to diff. orgs are here - http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/952611
