ThomasTighe

Hi, rootbeerghost. I wish I could answer that succinctly, but I think the best thing I can say is that, if you're concerned, track the news and look for an organization that does what you care about and understand and support it if you can. In Nepal, the tragedy is so extensive -- and the full extent isn't even fully known -- I think there's a risk of getting so caught in the news reports that we all fail to recognize the enormous human tragedy that has occurred. All in one instant. In general, the main concerns are food, water, sanitation, and health services. Direct Relief focuses on the health services, but we recognize that other groups do other things are also essential. Supporting organizations is important, but so is expressing concern. It means a lot when people know others are pulling for them. Reddit is an example of that. And sorry that was such a long-winded answer to a very short question.

Hi, WaluiJ. Zeldathon was such a wonderful surprise to me and, more importantly, for the organization. I was stunned how much attention it received and how long you all kept at it. I was transfixed, actually, even though I'm not a gamer of note. Sadly, I'm old enough to have played Pong, in its original format at an arcade. Thank you again for spending your New Year's eve making it happen on Zeldathon. #dontgetblasted was my first, unwitting, hashtag!

We're working with One Heart Worldwide -- a group we've been suupporting for several years that focuses on safe deliveries for women -- as well as number of other groups that provide specialized care for women with obstetric fistula and general health services. One Heart works in 5 districts, and our colleagues are travelling tomorrow (today local time) to Dhading Besi, where One Heart trains healthworkers and staffs birthing centers. The initial reports are that 18 of the 20 facilities in Dhading were destroyed or damaged, so that will be a priority area for us and where we will channel funds and material support. We're also seeing what the other groups in Nepal need, particularly in the area of medications, supplies, and medical equipment, since that's what Direct Relief does extensively. Fortunately, we have a large current inventory that includes large quantities of things like saline solution, antibiotics, surgical and wound care supplies -- all of which have been offered. We have to make sure the government approves each and every item before it arrives, which is what our colleagues are doing in Kathmandu.

Hi, sunzoje. My pleasure. Our colleague, Gordo, was with the Ministry of Health and at the UN "cluster" meeting today, and he shared that the government obviously wants and has requested help but are being careful to ensure that they can understand who and what is being brought into their country. We always respect that, so we're being careful to explain what we can do and that, of course, we respect that we're only there to help -- it's their country, as is always the case. Direct Relief is a support organization, which is why we think it works.

Hi, soupzYT. We will spend the funds received for Nepal to provide medications, medical supplies, and other medical equipment to local partners in Nepal. Over the past few days, we've been in contact with many of them to understand what exactly they need that we can deliver. It's important to get that nailed down, since the rush to send "stuff" in without a plan often results in a logjam of that material at the airport with no one quite sure what to do with it. It's not only wasteful, it clogs up the distribution channels. That's why a lot of our time and effort and expenses are related to getting the logistics and transportation and storage nailed down. We also will be providing direct financial support to the partner organizations in Nepal -- in the form of cash grants, depending on how much we might have -- so that they can rebuild facilities and cover other losses or increased expenses related to the earthquake. We have offered our entire medical inventory -- which includes large volumes of things like saline solution, antibiotics, and surgical supplies -- to partner organizations in Nepal. The funds we receive will be spent on transporting the items -- IF they are requested, approved for importation, and we are confident they will be properly used -- and the costs of distributing them in country. That's Direct Relief's basic program model: providing essential medical material assistance to locally run health projects (free of charge, I should add). You can see the partners we work with in Nepal, and what we've provided over the past several years, on https://www.directrelief.org/aidmap We're fortunate to work closely with many of the world's healthcare manufacturers, which provide donations of their products to us for humanitarian uses we identify. We don't spend any donors' money on fundraising expenses. I tried to explain in another answer (and I'm sorry I missed this question while typing another answer) that, although Direct Relief has a focus on health and the specific medical material, we certainly recognize that other areas we don't address are critically important. Also, it's important to note that if a donor gives a contribution for Nepal, 100% of that contribution is used only for activities and expenses directly related to helping in Nepal.