Typhoon Haiyan
Typhoon Haiyan is one of the most intense typhoons on record to date. It has taken thousands of lives, left roughly 600,000 people homeless, and more than 2 million people require food aid, including new mothers or pregnant women, all according to the Philippine Government. Even these figures can rise as the enormity of the destruction of the typhoon is still unclear.
It's hard to imagine the disasters abroad from our homes. Nevertheless, these people need immediate relief. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the Philippines, Luiza Carvalho, has announced that it would take $301 million to effectively help the 11.3 million people affected by the typhoon.
International Rescue Committee
We have chosen to donate towards the IRC because they are on the ground and are proven and experienced in disaster relief.
The IRC has a systematic approach, and will be involved with the recovery process in both the short and long terms. To begin with they have identified that the typhoon has heavily affected the infrastructure and will hire locals to help clear debris in order to expedite transportation and distribution of resources and to reconstruct basic water and sanitation services. Afterwards they will assess medical situations and help provide treatment. Several people with chronic illnesses are now without proper medication and are in life threatening situations. Additionally, new threats such as cholera or typhoid could easily emerge.
Here is an important excerpt from Bob Kitchen's (the director of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit at the IRC) editorial on CNN that shows the need for donations and IRC's well thought out priorities:
"No country can be fully prepared for disasters of this scale, so aid agencies will call for and coordinate international flights and shipments of the medicines and resources that are in the shortest supply or that have already run out. This process is expensive and requires serious financial support and logistical assistance. It will require donations from people who can afford to help as well as the offer of military-scale logistical assistance from governments that can help.
When they lose their home and their family, people also often lose hope. Where food has run out, electricity cut off and communications down, then looting, violence and theft become an immediate danger. The IRC will be assessing the nature and locations of these threats to alert the government and work with partners to offer protection services. We consider the vulnerability of women and girls to be front and center in our emergency response, as we know that in emergencies gender-based violence tragically increases."
We have set the deadline for Monday, November 25th because of the demand for urgency. No amount is too small or too large. Please donate what you can.
To follow IRC's updates take a look at their blog:
http://www.rescue.org/blog/
Other Options
If you do not want to donate to the IRC there are plenty other ways you can help. Plenty of other charities are helping in various ways, for more information you can take a look at news articles such as CNN's:
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/09/world/iyw-how-to-help-typhoon-haiyan/index.html?hpt=hp_t2