OK unless you have been without TV or radio for the last couple of days
you will know about this disaster in the Indian Ocean.
There is a main charity umbrella organisation now set up to take
donations - 1 alone would do a lot in food/clean water for someone
affected. It is Christmas, even if all you can spare is a 10......
0870 -6060 900

OR online visit www.dec.org.uk to donate online

*** Further announcement - banks etc will NOT be charging the usual clearing fees for donations made by credit card***
***Lastly it was announced today that the POST OFFICE will take cash or cheques
over the counter as donations***

Here is the footage...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/news_web/video/40672000/bb/40672255_bb_16x9.asx

Couldn't access that report, but have accessed others at
the BBC site - this is going to take many months surely to
simply put back some type of normal life/infrastructure for
many of these people. Some areas are totally dependent on
tourism, goodness knows what economic implications there will
be now for those regions.

The images coming out on the news tonight are just terrible. Makes my heart sink.

Scrip,

Just watched the link, and words can't describe the sheer horror of it all.

Come on all, we have to donate to help these people!

After seeing the new pictures earlier today I phoned up and pledged a months "wages". A heavy heart though as money really means nothing in terms of these types of events. I even phoned up and offered to go as part of the relief effort but I guess they really need professionals at times like these.

Last week I had a moan about Planestation shares but the Tsunami more than puts things into perspective ...my god it does. I bet many of us have shares that are worth nothing to us but collectively would probably raise thousands of pounds. I just wish there was some way i could donate these, without charges, in the knowledge that all the proceeds would go as aid. If anybody knows if this is being done please post and let me know.

Philcom, try these people. You would have to ask them if they had any special plans in view of the tsunami disaster.

http://www.sharegift.org/sharegift/

I have now updated the header on this thread to show the DEC website address
for online donations and also to include the fact that the Post Office is
now taking donations across the counter in cash or cheques.

UK Govt More Than Triples Donation To Tsunami Victims
LONDON (AP)--The U.K. government more than tripled its relief donation to victims of the Asian tidal wave Thursday, bringing its overall contribution to GBP50 million.

The Department for International Development said the government would add an extra GBP35 million to its already pledged GBP15 million.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has pledged that the U.K. is ready to help those hit "in any way we can."

Britons have donated GBP20 million to a tsunami disaster fund, a group of charities said Thursday, while leading English soccer clubs announced they would add GBP1 million to the relief effort.

A spokeswoman for Blair's Downing Street office said that the amount pledged was only the first phase of the government's humanitarian effort.

She said the prime minister had no plans to end his family holiday in Egypt early in response to the disaster, and added that he spoke to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Wednesday.

The Foreign Office, meanwhile, said 27 Britons have died in the earthquake-driven tidal waves, with 21 deaths occurring in Thailand, three in Sri Lanka and three in the Maldives.

The U.K. ambassador to Thailand said hundreds more U.K. citizens may be missing, as Christmas is the peak season for visits to the southeast Asian country.

"We are talking, at the least, in the twenties of deaths, injured in the hundreds," Ambassador David Fall told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. "Missing? It is very difficult to say - scores, though it may reach into the hundreds. There could have been thousands (of British people) in Phuket and other affected areas at the time."

ttt

Thanks for that update Jeff - looks like the wheels are turning
in the political world, the logistics must be a nightmare - so many
places needing so much and yesterday - huge task.

Hope Tony is enjoying his holiday.

Hmmm yes that's one factor that has been noted by the media also,
I suppose it could be said that if the dept heads are doing their
jobs adequately the 'CEO' isn't necessarily required - but it does tend
to look just a tad better if he's seen to be around and about!

Just a tad!!

I bet its a freebie opto!

LOL Dave!

Think the best thing anyone is is able to can do is to book a holiday in the area as soon as practical and spend some cash in the local economy.

That's a good point Partridge, but it could be some considerable
time before the tourist industry can get going again.

Heard a local guy on the radio yesterday suggesting there is a misconception about the size of the affected area relative to the whole tourist area (certainly in Sri Lanka and Thailand) - think he said it was about 10%. Good luck with your efforts Bunny - now going off to hold a bucket outside my local Tesco.

Good luck Partridge
:>)