Relief Funds
South Asia Earthquake and Tsunamis Response Fund

United Way International, United Way of America, and United Way affiliates in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and East Africa are working together to respond to the communities affected by the earthquake and tsunamis.

United Ways and United Way affiliates are working with a myriad of international, national, and community based corporations and governmental agencies to identify priority needs and develop efficient and effective response and aide distribution systems. Specifically, United Ways are convening coalitions of response partners to insure timely and unduplicated relief, administering response funds, providing technology infrastructure for communication, donation and volunteer management, and linking resource providers to agencies that can directly assist victims.

The United Way South Asia Response Fund, www.unitedway.org/tsunamiresponse is focused on long-term recovery efforts such as rebuilding the infrastructure in the impacted region. United Way is supporting the emergency relief phase by assisting disaster response partners with the expertise in providing fresh water, food, medical assistance, and temporary sheltering but our primary focus will be long-term reconstruction and recovery. United Ways and their community partners will aide in rebuilding homes, schools, public works, and health facilities; restore destroyed fisheries and farms, replant crops, and reforestation; provide for mental health assistance and support at-risk populations; and participate in strategic planning/mitigation management and other needs as determined over time.

For those interested in providing immediate relief assistance, United Way of America strongly encourages cash donations to responding disaster agencies (versus material donations) as the most expedient and direct way to provide needed assistance to disaster victims.

A list of responding agencies accepting donations for immediate relief assistance can be found at: www.interaction.org, the website for InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. United Way International is one of over 160 InterAction members working in partnership with United Nations disaster assessment country teams, various U.N. donor governments, and the governments of the affected countries to assess the extent of the disaster and to prioritize emergency needs.

The United Way South Asia Response Fund has been created to support these long-term recovery efforts and will be administered by United Way International. Individuals and corporations interested in donating funds for long-term recovery can make an online contribution tsunami.united-e-way.org or mail a check or money order to:

United Way South Asia Response Fund
c/o United Way of Morris County
PO Box 1948
Morristown, NJ 07962-1948

or

United Way South Asia Response Fund
c/o United Way International
701 North Fairfax Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance cautions donors on Tsunami Relief appeals, and offers tips on avoiding questionable solicitations. Visit give.org for more information.