Cathy2 wrote:[url]http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=2935422&nav=5D7lWH3H]Some Tsunami Relief Donations Useless[/url]

GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) -- At the main warehouse in Galle, mountains of cardboard boxes and suitcases ready to burst take up a quarter of the cavernous building.

Some are labeled "Aid for Tsunami Victims," but their contents -- winter jackets, expired cans of salmon, stiletto shoes, winter tents, thong panties and even Viagra -- have left Sri Lankans scratching their heads.

Unprecedented aid poured in after the Dec. 26 tsunami, but some of those wanting to help were perhaps too eager, shipping items of no use in tropical Sri Lanka. And seven weeks after the disaster, no one knows what to do with some supplies piled up at government buildings, aid agencies and refugee camps.

"These items just cannot be used here," said storekeeper H. Wickremabandara, noting the average temperature is 82 degrees. "There are all these old clothes and no one wants them."

C2, some contributions go to waste, there is no doubt, but having so much, even if one-half, one-third of what we give goes to those who need it, I think it money well spent.

Hammond

Hi,

These types of experiences also emphasize where cash can be more beneficial, though that can diverted and corrupted, too. You do the best you can to identify the best charity, with the least amount of administrative expenses, then donate and don't look back.

Though you do have to wonder about those who send thong underwear and 4-inch party shoes to a devastated area.

Cathy2 wrote:Though you do have to wonder about those who send thong underwear and 4-inch party shoes to a devastated area.

C2, I think it makes people feel better to think that they helped. When tragedy strikes, the feeling of impotence can be overwhelming, and so people do what they can. After 9/11, my daughter and her friends collected canned goods and socks for the victims. Now, if any group of victims did NOT need such post-disaster contributions, it was the families of those who died in the towers. So my daughter sent some Campbell's products to Manhatten, and some others thought it best to send troops to the Middle East; both were trying "to do something" in response to the 9/11 attacks, though neither, I think, did much good for anyone.

Hammond