eXceem Burma Relief fund fundraising

[Jon]

As you will no doubt be aware there was a cyclone in Burma last week - a few members have contacted me about setting up a donation page so here it is

Justgiving - eXceem Comunity's Fundraising Page

All donations will goto the DEC which is an umbrella organisation including the leading UK charities, and they will collect all the money, and then spend it with the charities who can get the most for the money.

Some useful links

• Press Release:*9 May 2008 - DEC
• Oxfam GB :: Emergencies - Myanmar (Burma) cyclone

[arcticfox]

Originally Posted by Jon

As you will no doubt be aware there was a cyclone in Burma last week - a few members have contacted me about setting up a donation page so here it is

Justgiving - eXceem Comunity's Fundraising Page

All donations will goto the DEC which is an umbrella organisation including the leading UK charities, and they will collect all the money, and then spend it with the charities who can get the most for the money.

Some useful links

• Press Release:*9 May 2008 - DEC
• Oxfam GB :: Emergencies - Myanmar (Burma) cyclone

I'm gonna sound like a right meany here but in my opinion, "charity begins at home" and I am living between two areas that are still affected by the floods of last year and people outside yorkshire seem to have forgotten about or don't care.

UK needs to put its own house in order before sending all these items to a country that doesnt even want anyones help.

Just my opinion

[Naomi101]

I'm donating to the WSPA who are helping the animals over there (not that I don't care about the people, of course I do, but the way their government are being i'd worry that my donation would end up doing them little, if any good )

Still, nice idea for Exceem to contribute

[blokman]

IMHO giving money to aid for Burma is pointless as it will never get there because of their government

[Funky]

Interesting debate starting here. It's not straight forward as putting your hand in your pocket because I agree that there are plenty of people in our own country that need help, although I tend to think that the needs of the Burma people is greater as there is a genuine threat to their health and lives and UK flood victims although going through very tough times are not likely to die from diseases due to contaminated water with bodies in.

I think it is ridiculous that the Burma Government is making the relief effort as hard as they are. People want to help so open up the doors and let them in. I think there should be an overriding body in these cases that can objectively look at the situation and where there is clearly some stupid decisions being made that are effecting peoples lives they can override government/military decisions

[Jon]

Originally Posted by arcticfox20

I'm gonna sound like a right meany here but in my opinion, "charity begins at home" and I am living between two areas that are still affected by the floods of last year and people outside yorkshire seem to have forgotten about or don't care.

UK needs to put its own house in order before sending all these items to a country that doesnt even want anyones help.

Just my opinion

I do see your point but there are a few differences

• this fund raising is to provide basic humanitarian items, such as water cleaning/purification basic food and basic shelter - stuff everyone who was flooded in the UK had within 48 hours (and in most cases within 24 hours)
• People in Yorkshire havnt been forgeten, I have been keeping tabs on what work has been planed for the flood defences - and there are plans being made and money being spent. (and hearing from a mate who works for a builders project managing the work on behalf of the insurance companies there are a few people "bumping up" their claims by a fair margin)
• This fundraising is in the main, for the saving of lives - while there may well be fund raising for rebuilding work, this initial DEC fundraising is just for the relief efforts

The people of the UK who were flooded have in the whole faced what can only be described as a minor inconvience compared to what the people of Burma face

Hopefully the UN will do something about the political situation - the good thing about the DEC is that any money given will only be used for what it is for - if they felt there was no way the money could have been spent they wouldn't have launched the appeal

[stubbs]

Originally Posted by blokman

IMHO giving money to aid for Burma is pointless as it will never get there because of their government

i have to agree, unfortunately and i do mean so but money from charities just won't be spent properly over there. the money will go into the pockets and swiss bank accounts of the Burmese generals.

[meadle]

To compare last years floods in the Uk with what has happened in Burma is a joke.

In the affected areas in Burma there is nothing of any note left for anyone. Worse than that, what is left is contaminated by the rotting bodies of tens of thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of dead animals. Cholera and other illnesses will be almost unstoppable in those conditions. People have nowhere to live and no food to eat.

UK last summer- people moved out of there houses to live somewhere dry and warm, supermarkets remained open, jobs were not lost etc. You can argue that the UK is not perfect but to claim us as a charity case in these situations is so wrong. Perhaps instead of a freebie room arctic will donate all money made from freebies to the deprived people of last years uk floods????

To argue about the government of the country and to wonder if the money will get there is more reasonable. Afterall we all want to know that the money we donate does good. In this case the need is so great that the question is can we worry about that? Surely we need to donate now and hope our government and the charities can get the help through????

[chigley]

Donated

[meadle]

plenty of people viewing the thread yet so few donations. is everyone really that skint?? respect to those of you who are big enough to say you wont be donating whatever your reasons.

[stubbs]

don't get me wrong i'm shocked by whats happened over there and would like to give money but in this case not only can i not be sure that its not getting to the needy, thats one thing, but that its actually going to fund something to do more damage i cant do.

sorry if im talking s**t but only from what ive read about and been told.

[l3link182]

i wont be donating for a number of reasons.

1. i dont have enough money as it is.

but the main reason is that i dont agree with the military dictatorship of the country which is quite capable of still exporting rice after the disaster which would be vital to the recovery of these people and also not letting in foreign aid workers is a joke, and are there any guarentees that the aid actually goes to these people because the government of the country wants to distribute it itself.

[kevan321]

I made a donation in the hope that it'll reach the right people. I know there's a good chance that it wont reach the people who need it, but isn't it worth trying?

I mean a tenner to us is worth far far more to them.

[Jon]

The DEC are transparent with how they distribute the funds, and they wouldnt have launched the appeal if they felt the money couldnt have been spent to help those who do need it.

[Sephora]

Thanks for setting this up Jon; made a donation - skint but oh well, £10 off the food budget won't kill us. I also think that governments are s*** at making sure that donation money is being used for the right causes but if a tiny bit does get through then in my opinion it is worth it. I have seen a lot of horrible disasters in the countries I have lived in - famine, civil wars, big earthquakes and typhoons (to name a few) so I know what some communities have to go through and without help from other countries these places wouldn't have been able to rebuild themselves. Personally I like to sponsor private and smaller action plans as they tend to actually achieve things and 100% of the donations are used for needed cause. The strongest cause I believe in is getting treatment for malaria in African countries, I can't tolerate the fact that such a huge percentage of the population is still dying of malaria when an easy cure exists, I've had malaria 5 freaking times and I don't understand why I could easily get treated while others can't; it makes me VERY angry...!!!!!!!!!!

[TheItis]

Donated. I think I screwed up on the tax bit though.