1 October 2009

How you can help Samoa disaster victims

Since the Tsunami hit Samoa and the surrounding regions last week, we have all been saddened to hear of the devastating losses suffered by the families and villages of the country.

Now that aid agencies have had a chance to launch their emergency relief, we have heard of the following programmes which New Zealanders can contribute to to help the country get back on its feet.

Ways you can help the Samoa disaster relief:

• UPDATE: Lots of clothing has been sent over already. Preferred items are now: Non-perishable foods, building materials such as nails, clean wood and also kitchen utencils such as pots and pans to help people rebuild their homes in Samoa. 
• Collections points in Wellington
• Collection points in West Auckland and wishlist here
• Donate used clothing and footwear through the Highlife Entertainment Charity Appeal, either at their upcoming party or drop in to the Youthline Offices in Ponsonby, by October 15th. More information here. 
• Make a donation to the Red Cross via Givealittle here or add a widget to your site to encourage others, see here.
• Volunteer to be a street collector to gather funds to send to Samoa, contact Oxfam here
• Other organisations collecting donations are listed here
• Donate through your Mercury Energy account - customers can text "Samoa" followed by a dollar amount, their first name and their customer account number to 515
• Habitat for Humanity is making a an urgent call for NZ tradespeople to help rebuild Samoa more info here
• NZAID logging expressions of interest from those who may be able offer specialist assistance to Samoa, call (04) 439 8104
• Donations
• Donations of of clothing, blankets & tinned food can be handed to Pacific Blue counters in NZ and Australia
• Anything else you hear of which people can help with, please let us know.

Read here for NZAID's guideline of how to help in a disaster. More often than not, donations of cash are required to rebuild the affected area so they can buy exactly what they require, so anything in that way you can contribute helps make a difference to those who have lost so much.