Supporting Relief and Recovery from the Asian Earthquake

The terrible earthquake of October 8, 2005 that hit remote regions of Pakistan, India, China and Afghanistan killed more than 70,000 people, half of them children, and displaced over three million people. Our thoughts and concerns go out to people affected by the earthquake.

Many of our friends have been asking about how they can help the relief and recovery efforts. Although Synergos does not work in any of the affected areas, here are some suggestions of other groups that can effectively use your contributions.

In Pakistan, one key group working to respond to the disaster is Strengthening Participatory Organisations (SPO), which builds the capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) in development work and disaster response and prevention. It works with more than 900 CBOs all over the country, including in the mountains. It is actively involved in relief work with the help of these community groups.

A board member of SPO told us recently that "Things are still very bad in the earthquake hit area and in near future the possibility of normalising the life seems unrealistic. Agencies have not yet assessed the damage and there are no definite estimates of the future needs. We do need each and every penny along with moral and technical support."

For more information and to contribute, visit www.spopk.org.

Other groups that our staff, or organizations such as the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, suggest, include:

Written November 10, 2005