CNN’s home page is reporting that the U.S. has now raised their support to $350million. Now that’s more like it! That’s for the long term. The problem is what to do for the immediate problem. The water purifying ships and other vessels that are arriving around the Indian Ocean and planes filled with supplies are helping. Sadly there are still so many places that this stuff can’t get to – especially inland.

http://www.redcross.org

from Anand M

I have been getting some comments from people trying to find information about friends in Chennai or India. I have started a new Blog called Tsunami India to help such people. If you want to know information about a friend, just mail me or post a comment in one of the blogs. If you know about someone being searched for, leave a comment in the appropriate post.

Do spread the news around, so that we can help people get in touch with friends and relatives.

http://www.redcross.org

The Aceh Aid Bucket Brigade that is coordinating relief efforts in Aceh is in need of a bunch of equipment (see specific list) and an I.T. person that can help them. Coming in by way of Singapore is the best bet.  Susi’s post explains how this can be coordinated.

Who’s got Apple connections??

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Susi Johnston shares reports from the people she is helping to coordinate in Aceh. She also reports a death toll from Sumatra that is [there is no word to fill this space].

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From Bali, Aceh Aid Bucket Brigade blog details the type of  skills that can be used on site:

Indonesian Language (essential)
Medical
Nursing
First Aid (wilderness/disaster first aid, not pre-hospital first aid, these people won’t get to hospitals)
Rescue and Evacuation
Emergency Sanitation (as in refugee camps, devastated/recovering villages)
Water Purification / Clean Water Systems

Also, they can use some technical help too

We are encountering some “desk work” that take up time we could be using to get medical supplies on planes, get relief workers into the field, coordinate with NGOs, etc. Things that don’t need to be done here. I mean work that could be “outsourced” to “virtual volunteers” (you?), such as updating our distribution list, and fixing it, making a database compiled from forms filled out by people applying as volunteers, maintaining specific lists, solving software problems by IM and email . . . .

We are doing lots of very important things here, that not many people in the world can do . . . in a language that most of you reading this will never need to learn to speak . . . so I think our time is crucial here on the ground in Indonesia . . .

Veer Ji Wangoo in New Delhi asks questions that are similar to my own:

As a SQl DBA what can I contribute?

Unless you have some special skills, the best thing we can do is send money to the organizations who know what to do and know how to do it. So that is good inspiration for me to keep working and send what $ I can. I am sending my money through the Red Cross, though there are many other aid organizations as well. It’s a crappy feeling to realize that my skills aren’t very useful when they could really count.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/more.emails/index.html

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http://www.ndtv.com/homepage/default.asp

http://www.chennaionline.com/

I now have friends all over the world through our INETA and blogging communities. Friends in places like Chennai, India which was hit hard by this mornings’ earthquake and subsequent tidal waves.

Posted from BLInk!