Emergency disaster appeals

My dd has worked for many years for an aid agency. She was in Aceh shortly after the tsunami, where her future dh was engaged on reconstruction work for another agency.

There were many complaints at the time that the thousands of houses that had been destroyed were not being rebuilt nearly quickly enough.
It was not the aid agencies' fault. There were apparently endless arguments among locals and government as to who owned which piece of land (and so would be entitled to compensation). And without official sanction,the work could not go ahead.
Unlike here, with the Land Registry, there never had been any official record of such things.

I think it can often be very difficult for anyone sitting in relative comfort, in a relatively organised country, to appreciate the difficulties so often encountered in such circs.

As this is an old thread, let's hope things have improved in Nepal now.

Nepal is a mountainous country. To state the obvious it is prone to earthquakes, followed by mudslides etc. I am not surprised that no new building has started yet.

That is because, first they need to clear mudslips and road damage on the few roads that go to the many remote regions affected by the earth quakes. Then they have to rebuild and repair the roads, not easy, when a hillside has disappeared. It needs to be built from scratch on a new route that they hope will be safe and not prone to mudslides. The same applies to restoring electricity and telecommunications.

Villages have completely dissappeared under earth and mud and need to be rebuilt from scratch, on new sites, with new foundations etc etc. then there are problems of logistics, getting materials to villages and and so on and so on.

Many temporary homes were provided in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, and while obviously one wants progress and rebuilding to go ahead as fast as possible, there is no point in hurriedly erecting unsuitably designed houses, in dangerous locations, where they may be washed away in the next flood season, just to look good to donors.

Well done. That is how transparent all Charities should be.

haiti-liberte.com/archives/volume5-25/Seven%20Places.asp
This was two years after the Haitian earthquake

Contrast that with the response from DirectRelief:
www.directrelief.org/emergency/haiti/

Perhaps we need to investigate the track record of some aid agencies before we donate.

Well done Tizliz that is so worthwhile and as you say , you know where the money is going.

A group of us donate directly to a head master of a school in a small village in Nepal and he updates us with what they are doing. Received a photo a few months ago of him triumphantly carrying a piece of corrugated iron which he had obtained. Materials are very hard to find as most villages are so remote. We were raising money for a new school roof, now it is for a new school - not a building was left whole after the earthquake. At least I know where my money is going.

That I don't know Annie I will try to read the whole report. Perhaps it is the press not letting the truth get in the way of a good story.

No need to rush in and take over, but was help offered , not money but practical help

I don't think that is totally true. The money was donated by governments and charities and it was expected the work would start. It is easy after the event but not easy to rush in and take over. Perhaps as we are told all the time "Lessons Will be Learned".

In the full knowledge that Napal is a very poor country it has taken British agencies a year to realise the country needs help

I'm just surprised the Western world hasn't had the nous to go and help them before!

I don't for one moment think it will stop people donating. Every new disaster brings forth the better instincts in people. Like compassion and generosity. Thank the Lord and long may it continue.