Like with any major disaster, the first thing many people thought of when they heard about the quake was "Oh no, I hope ____ is alright, how can I get a hold of them?" With that there came a torrent of messages on Twitter, Facebook, Email, Skype, Phones and any other method of communication. With this demand many companies have stepped up to the plate and provided free services for finding friends and loved ones in Japan. Below are some signifigant examples.
1) Locating people
Google: the Google Person Finder, set up in the hours after the quake, has enabled many people to network to locate friends and loved ones, or to assure those friends and loved ones that they are fine.
By Phone:
Missing persons phone lines (Japanese language)
Iwate: 0120-801-471
Miyagi: 022-221-2000
Fukushima: 0120-510-186 / 090-8424-4207 / 090-8424-4208
2) Phoning Japan for free*
AT&T: Until March 31st, International texts from the US to Japan are free, for those looking for more information, click here to see the news release from AT&T.
Sprint: Until April 10th, Sprint will be waiving fees for calls and texts into Japan for those on Sprint's network, click here to see the news release from Sprint.
Verizon: Until April 10th, Verizon will be waiving fees for calls and texts into Japan, in addition to support on other Verizon services, click here to see the news release from Verizon.
*As with all "free" deals, it is always best to examine the fine print, as there have been suggestions that these companies may take advantage of the influx in demand to profit.
How to choose and donate to a cause
Within hours of the initial shock of the quake and subsequent tsunami, a huge outpouring of donations began to flood into aid agencies for the support of survivors. Equally fast was the speed at which scammers began to develop ways to trick people into donating to fake agencies that were set up overnight to accept donations with no intention for any of the money to go to relief efforts. Another problem is finding the right agency, since so many large agencies may claim to be assisting Japan directly, but under closer inspection have stated that they will use the funds for other projects as well. While the later is far more altruism then the former, it is still true that when you donate you expect your money to go to the cause you are donating to, and thus I've drawn up a few simple rules for donation you might want to consider.
1) How established is the agency?
Red Cross is a name everyone knows, but what about Architecture for Humanity? There are a lot of smaller agencies out there that are providing much needed support where the larger agencies cannot pick up the slack or do not ahve the expertiese. Make sure to research the agency and see when they were established, what they have done in the past, etc, before you write the check.
2) Do they have a written donation policy? What is it?
I mentioned above about wanting your money to go to the cause you support, but this is only a call for transparency in the language used to garner donations. There have actually been a few articles about why it might not be a good idea to donate directly to Japan, and to let the agency decide how to use the funds, I leave this up to you. In all cases, however, make sure there is a written donation policy and that you understand what you are signing.
3) Will your donation go towards something that is truly needed?
There is a trend among smaller aid organizations to try and dominate a niche of aid for a certain disaster and to concentrate singularly on that niche. This can be incredibly useful as it encourages an agency to invest in the expertise to truly understand what the demands for a certain resource are in any situation. However some causes are more popular then others, and this raises the issue where large aid agencies cannot afford to concentrate on one issue for fear of neglecting others and the damage overwhelming any benefit. Again, if you want to make sure your aid is targeted at the cause you wish it to be then do your research on what is needed and who is providing that. I'm going to put a spotlight on Charity Navigator here as it has been incredibly useful in deciding how the funds we at Green Mountain are raising will be spent, but I encourage you to search out others if you do not find one you like.
News resources for staying up-to-date on current developments
There are many ways to stay up to date with issues going on in the world, and in response to the crisis many news agencies have created dedicated sections of their sites for the issue. A few of these are included below, and I encourage you to seek out more.
Wall Street Journal
The Guardian
Al Jazeera
BBC
Reuters
I hope these resources are helpful to you, no matter what your level of interest or ability to give aid I hope you will keep the people of Japan in your thoughts.
- Dan
