After the horror of Haiti's quake, we donated millions -- but how will it be spent?
By Thursday of this week, the Irish public had already donated over €5m to Haiti earthquake appeals by Irish aid agencies. It was a typically generous response to a disaster, but how can donors be sure the money is getting through to those who really need it?
Sending supplies -- including food, water and medicines -- has been a logistical nightmare for the aid agencies this week. The airport and roads were initially clogged with military personnel, relief cargo, and camera crews, all scrambling to be there first.
Faced with marketing campaigns from a plethora of different charities, donors may find it difficult to choose between them.
Perhaps the most important quality a donor should look for in a charity is experience: organisations that handle disasters year after year are probably best equipped to deal with an event such as this.
Richard Gordon, director of the Disaster Management Centre at Bournemouth University in England, said that donors should find out whether the aid agency had a recognised track record.
"Has the NGO (non-governmental organisation) got people out there now? If not, what would the NGO do with your money?''
Mr Gordon warns donors to be wary of less-experienced do-gooders.
"There are many amateurs who may try to collect sufficient funds to put together a band of friends and well-wishers but have no real training. Avoid all unknown collectors with tins in the bar.''
Organisations such as Concern, the Irish Red Cross, Trocaire and Goal have long been involved in disaster relief -- and are already heavily involved in Haiti. By Thursday morning, Concern had collected €2.7m from Irish donors to its earthquake appeal. Overall, Concern says 87pc of its annual donations go directly towards "relief and development''. The remainder goes on education, fundraising and paying the 300 staff in Ireland and Britain. Figures from the 2008 annual report suggest that the average salary is just under €40,000.
Concern was quick off the mark in providing emergency relief after the earthquake, because it already had staff in place in Haiti, but it had to cope with its own tragedies. One local Concern worker and a former worker were killed in the disaster.
A spokeswoman for the charity, Eithne Healy, spells out clearly how the organisation is spending the money it receives from Irish donors, giving prices for emergency products:
- 10,000 blankets for €3 each -- €30,000.
- 2,000 tarpaulins for €11.50 each -- €23,000.
- 10 water tanks (capacity 10,000 litres) for €2,000 each -- €20,000.
- Two Honda water pumps -- €2,100. n 10,000kg Plumpy Nut high nutrition food -- €27,500.
- 2,400kg high-energy biscuits for 2.50 per kg -- €6,000.
- 170kg of milk powder -- €390.
- 70kg of oral rehydration solution -- €210.
Since the earthquake, Concern has been distributing medical supplies and food, setting up water tanks, and providing shelter through tents and tarpaulins.
Mr Gordon of the Disaster Management Centre says: "For aid agencies offering medical support, food and water in these disasters, the problem is the crowds mobbing them and demanding their needs first.''
"While aid was getting to the airport not long after the earthquake, it was not getting out quickly owing to a lack of fuel for transport and a lack of communications.
"The use of air drops by US military to deliver food can help to overcome the problem of fuel and road transport, but it raises another problem: air drops are indiscriminate in the way that the food reaches the people.
Images of New Orleans, post Katrina, may remind you of helicopters air-dropping food supplies and then the rush of the strong, leaving others (weaker, older, more vulnerable) standing and watching helplessly.''
By Wednesday, GOAL had succeeded in getting materials through to stricken areas. It distributed food and water, and non-food items such as blankets, sleeping mats, cooking equipment and hygiene sets, to 1,000 people in the Turgeau region of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Within a week of the earthquake, the Irish Red Cross had collected over €650,000 from Irish donors. Like Concern, it also had workers on the ground in Haiti before the disaster and was able to respond quickly.
Noel Wardick, head of the Irish Red Cross International office, said: "Very quickly we were setting up emergency response units focusing on issues such as shelter, medicine, water, sanitation and communications.''
Mr Wardick outlines how even small donations can contribute to a relief effort: €10 will pay for a tarpaulin, offering temporary shelter; €25 buys enough blankets for a large family; €50 provides food parcels for three families for two weeks.
Like other aid agencies, the Red Cross will focus on the short-term needs such as water, food and shelter.
But once these needs are met, relief workers will focus on rebuilding the stricken areas. Homes, schools, and workplaces have to be rebuilt. Some of the aid agencies employ local people to carry out this work.
The aid organisations expect to be involved in the Haiti relief effort for at least three years. The Red Cross has only recently wound down its tsunami operation in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
According to Mr Noel Wardick, the Irish Red Cross spends about 7pc of its budget on overheads such as administration, marketing and advertising.
"This kind of spending is necessary if an organisation is to work well,'' says Noel Wardick. " I would be suspicious if an aid organisation says it spends less than 5pc on its overheads. It is generally accepted that you need about 7pc to be effective.''
As in previous disasters, Irish donors have been quick to hand over their money. In order to ensure that it is spent wisely and goes to those in need, they should choose their agencies carefully.
Irish Independent
