“When the world says ‘please let us help', extraordinary things begin to happen.”
I'm sure I'm not telling you news, when I'm talking about the horrible situation in Japan. Also I'm not the first to tell you to help. You're probably thinking – “There are enough people helping!” Sure, there are many people donating money or helping otherwise but there are a lot of people like you out there. Wondering if and how they can help and even if their help is needed.
Of course nobody forgot other countries suffering – neither did I! The people suffering from tragedies in other countries are being helped by many people donating money, building schools and providing medications to them.
Therefore each and every one of us should help – even just a little bit.
Regardless whether it is a rich or a poor country you decide to help.
Imagine this – 1 person, maybe you (or me) – donates 1 dollar to Red Cross. Sure it seems little if you compare it to superstars donating millions, but don't stop imagining. We have your dollar, now 4,999 people decide to donate 1 dollar too and suddenly your little donation becomes a great total of 5000$! That's a lot of money to help people in distress.
Now if you decide to donate more than this one dollar it can even add up to greater amounts of money being donated. You make a difference – you really do!
But to help does not always mean to donate (money or food or things, whatever). I understand that it's not easy to spare money (or food or things) if you barely have them for yourself. Don't feel bad and don't judge people if they don't donate.
It is voluntarily and it is good if you decide to do it, but it doesn't make you a bad person if you don't (because some people just can't)
If you want to help and can't or don't want to donate – SPREAD THE WORD! I cannot stress this enough. There are a lot of people who don't watch TV or read the newspapers; they probably don't know anything about the situation in Japan (or any other Country)
Japan's emergency services are struggling under freezing weather, lack of medicine and unsanitary conditions. These make survival a challenge!
“I've had an upset stomach ever since I've been here but they tell me there's no medicine,” he says, pulling a blanket closer around him. “But the worst thing is the cold. It was minus four in here last night. I guess it will be the same again tonight.”
“I can't sleep at night and I have bad dreams. And then during the day, there is the stress of all this,” she says, waving towards the floor-to-ceiling windows that look out across the devastated town. The school has become home to more than 1,000 local people whose houses were destroyed in the floods, even though the building was itself badly damaged.
“We have a slice of bread for breakfast, but I often give it to other people's children because they are hungrier than me,” she said. “Otherwise, it's just rice balls and tea.”
“I should probably eat. But I don't think there's anything left now. The doctors told us we should eat a little as often as we could to keep our strength up.”
I know we tend to forget about how lucky we are. We have a family, a home, a bed; we can go to school and learn. It is normal for us to take all these things for granted.
But the life you are used to can be gone in the blink of an eye. Life is precious and we shouldn’t forget that.
Let us help and encourage each other to make our world a better place.
Please visit these sites, if you want to help!
redcross.org
jrc.or.jp