Carrying on with our discourse on the post-tsunamis situation in Galle, Sri Lanka, we use as a sample of fundraising our own experiences with the Talpe Foundation. You can see the website we built here-: TalpeFoundation.com (please forgive a lack of recent updating- one coming soon, promise!). As of March, 2006, we had helped raise over half a million dollars and built over 50 houses- with each family owning their own house and land title outright- so the average cost, along with all the communal utilities, road construction et al- came in at $10,000 per house- over our original budget (oil prices trebling!), but pretty satisfactory.

And we thought that we were done. Then..amazingly, through a friend in New York, Jack Kelly, we received last month over $200,000 from the Kabbalah Foundation. The rumor is that it came from a certain UK resident, but hey- no complaints from our end!!

Let us end this rant by saying to any of you, if you’re thinking of going to Sri Lanka, despite the bombs!, drop us a bell and we’ll be happy to help you out as much as we can. Or alternatively, feel free to visit our site and help out this still very needy, and worthwhile, charity!!

Categories: Charities, Disaster Relief, Fundraising, Organizations, Volunteering

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The result of this inefficiency in getting funds to victims in a disaster relief situation, such as in Sri Lanks post-tsunamis, is that when one visits Galle, you might have the impression that the tsunami hit last week. Yes- some rebuilding work and cleaning up has been done. But a lot hasn’t. Thousands of families still live in “temporary housing” on the roadsides (UN tents) and thousands remain displaced altogether. The new government remains as corrupt and as inefficient as the last. Plus there is essentially a full-scale civil war going on now with the Tamil rebels in the North. Such is the paranoia of this present administration, they have even banned the good old Beeb from the TV!

We’d like to say that we are involved in all this business out of the goodness of our hearts. But the truth is we were inextricably tied into the situation out of fate. One month prior to the tsunami hitting SE Asia, we had bought a property in the Fort, in Galle. Great timing, eh? A beautiful place- really. Galle Fort is the best preserved Fort in Asia, having been built by the Dutch in the mid 1600s. You can see pictures of our property-: here.

So as “part of the comunity”, one was beholden to do “something“. We chose a charity, the Talpe Foundation, run by a local lawyer that we had come to trust in Galle, Bindu Wickramasekara. What we liked about the concept behind the charity, apart from it avoiding the above three “usual” charitable pitfalls (admin costs, govt corruption and loss of interest)- was that, having bought the land for the victims, members of the family would actually help in the construction of the house that they would be living in, and owning. That just felt right to us- on a number of levels.

Categories: Analysis, Charities, Disaster Relief, Fundraising, Ideas

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As mentioned in the prior post, we are taking our trip to Sri Lanka as an example of how inefficient and problematic the process can be in getting money to those that need it in a disaster relief situation.

Firstly, these major charities lose a horrific percentage in “administrative costs“- ranging anywhere from 40% to 60%, so before your money has even arrived in the country, essentially half of it is eaten up already.

Secondly the government in Sri Lanka was (there’s been a change since last year) totally, utterly corrupt. The one-eyed “Madam” President was reportedly buying houses from Eaton Square in London to Shane Warne’s house in Melbourne (for those who don’t know- Warne, Aussie, is probably the greatest spin bowler in cricket, of all time). And to justify the witholding of emergency funds to those who needed it most, the fishermen who had lost their homes (in the hundreds of thousands), an absurd law was passed declaring it illegal to build within 200m of the coast (supposedly in case of another tsunami- like a zillion to one chance), thus allowing the govt. a legal way out from immediately dishing out the funds to rebuild and reconstruct.

And thirdly, just the element of time & it being pushed down the list of emergency funding- how many other “disasters” has the world had since 2004 which also requires “urgent attention“? And so, from the mass of “do gooders” that we met in January, 2005, there remains a paltry (& jaded!) few as of today.

Categories: Analysis, Disaster Relief, Environmental, Fundraising, Organizations

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We just got back from Sri Lanka in August. The situation there is still dire and the bigger “international” blogs are just not reporting the realities. Of course it’s hard, we know, but it’s disappointing nevertheless.

Our charity of choice is the Galle area, which was one of the worst places hit in the region and where the major news networks based themselves post-tsunami, at the end of 2004.

The US Marines did a fantastic job initially- helping to clean the place up - but as one finds with so many of these UN and govt. run relief efforts, three things happen to the money being sent by well-meaning people from around the world.

These are the areas that of concern that Charities Blog would like to highlight and discuss over September, as it serves as a useful example of the donor-fundraiser-victim/area of need “process” that is found throughout charities from small to large, and not just the Post-Tsunamis Disaster Relief Effort.

Categories: Analysis, Disaster Relief, Environmental, Fundraising, News, Organizations, Volunteering

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Located between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, Armenia is a beautiful country which has endured a history of strife. The smallest of the former Soviet republics, it gained its independence in 1991.

The people of Armenia are fair to olive-skinned and dark haired, and are Orthodox in their beliefs. It is a highly urbanized society, with an astounding 70% of its population living in towns.

Most Armenians speak Russian in addition to the national language, Armenian, which is a 2,000 year-old language with its own unique alphabet.

Children Available

It is possible to adopt children as young as 6 months as well as older children and those with special needs.

Eligible Applicants

Unlike many countries, single women are eligable to adopt from Armenia, and married couples of course. Adoptive parents should be under 49 years old to adopt an infant who us under one year of age, or least 20 years older than the child. Having older children already in your home is also acceptable.

The Process

In Armenia, the full adoption process takes from 10 months to one year. It is necessary for the adoptive parent/parents to travel to Armenia for 2-3 weeks to complete the adoption process, and only one parent is required to travel. A brief trip to Moscow, Russia may also be necessary to complete the immigration requirements of your embassy as well as the child’s medical certification.

For more information, inquire at your Armenian consulate or online.

Note: Most agencies prefer adoptive parents of Armenian descent or similar cultural/religious beliefs. Adopting parents will also be asked for a promise to maintain the child’s cultural heritage, and to provide a letter of reference from their church leader.

Categories: Children, Organizations

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