Wouldn't it be great to buy some tsunami survivors a boat?

[KurtNYC]

I'm serious. I heard this story on the BBC last night and they showed how fishing boats were just pushed and smashed up into the middle of town. They said extended families were making the hard choice about where their kids should live and some opted for orphanages because without their boats they couldn't make a living. Like so many stories coming out of this tragedy, this is heartbreaking.

I'm a big fan of charities which are structured around specific goals. One of these is Free the Children which builds schools in impoverished areas as a way to reduce child labor and abuse. This idea is similar and I think it helps make sure that what you donate gets to somewhere where it has impact (and doesn't wind up being a no interest home loan for some executive at United Way, etc.).

If anyone has heard of a charity which is specifically interested in getting new boats or in repairing boats in the region, please let me know.

[MrsMatt]

1. American Refugee Committee

http://www.archq.org/

This is a Minneapolis MN based charity. My daughter's school is working with this organization specifically to raise money for rebuilding the fishing fleets.

A couple of links to newspaper stories that mention this goal:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5169686.html
http://www.startribune.com/stories/670/5169549.html
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5169197.html

[KurtNYC]

3. Thanks

I think it is a great idea.

[democracyindanger]

4. This guy's got the right idea

(From the above links)

"The money will be used to buy the boats from local boat builders, who will also benefit from the economic activity."

It's important to do as much as possible through local labor and resources. Buying a foreign boat means the fishermen can get back to work, but the boatbuilders are out of luck.

[KurtNYC]

6. Yes - I like that a lot better than the iboat (below #2)

who will lease them and whatnot and don't yet have non-profit status.

[MrsMatt]

8. Yes, that's what I like too

And, since I'm from the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, I'm also happy that I can vouch for this organization (their administration and fundraising costs are only 9% which means 91% of their income goes directly to the programs they support - which includes the areas of the Sudan, Balkans, etc. They are also operating in Iraq). They've been around for years, but they're pretty low-key.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/3284.htm

[KurtNYC]

2. I did find these guys

http://www.iboats.com/press-releases/010305.html

The CEO of FatPipe Networks, Bhaskar Ragula, is a native of India and his company has a subsidiary location in the city of Chennai, India, near the disaster areas. He came up with the idea of starting a fund and having his Indian management use 100% of monies raised in the USA to buy as many small boats as possible to replace some of those boats that were lost or destroyed. The idea is for FatPipe in India to form a coop so as to very inexpensively be able to rent these new boats to local fishermen who lost their boats. The proceeds from these rentals will then be given to the families of fishermen who lost their lives in this disaster, and the rented boats will provide the means for some of the fishermen who lost their boats to again be able to generate a livelihood.
...
A new small paddle fishing boat used by the local fishermen costs about $1,100 in India. FatPipe is also applying for nonprofit status for its fund so that donations can be tax-deductible. More details on this nonprofit status will be provided shortly.

But I would rather fund someone in Indonesia since they seem to be harder hit and that is where the BBC story talked about the orphanages.

[elehhhhna]

5. Anybody know the buy a cow or goat program in Africa?

A small gift of livestock can make the difference for a family in need--

[MrsMatt]

7. Heifer International

http://www.heifer.org/

But it actually operates world wide.

[elehhhhna]

9. Thx! From the link: give $ to other IMMEDIATE relief efforts! Wow.

Heifer's Tsunami Disaster Update
Heifer's Asia staff report that they and our project participants are safe and that no Heifer projects were directly affected by the tsunami disaster. Our international programs staff is now determining how we can best help recovery efforts. Meanwhile, we encourage you to donate to those charities involved in immediate relief efforts, while continuing to work for long-term, sustainable solutions to global hunger and poverty. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. Visit InterAction for relief information.