Helping Haiti

It’s hard to imagine the horror that is prevalent following the earthquake in Haiti. So much has been written that I don’t think I can add anything more than utter sorrow at the distress, pain and loss.

I have found some particularly easy ways to donate to the aid efforts – because sometimes I prefer to take lazy routes..

The main UK appeal seems to be coming via DEC (Disaster Emergency Committee) which is an umbrella body for a lot of other aid charities that come together to promote a ‘single giving point’.

Google is also supporting ways to donate via Google Checkout – if you already have a card registered with them it can take a couple of seconds, and if you don’t, well, maybe 10/15 secs!

It is also possible to donate through iTunes – this is actually what I ended up doing on a whim and it works well in that way in that the donation is just added to your iTunes account.

Paypal UK also have a link to donate directly to Oxfam from their site.

These are all ways that work regardless of which country you are based in and paying from although with the iTunes and the Google method, the proceeds are channeled through US charities (to be honest, I thought it didn’t make a difference as it all ends up in the same place – one would hope).

The US has a mechanism to donate via SMS but I can’t find any equivalent in the UK.

EDIT : Thank you to Marina who posted a comment that this is, in fact, working in the UK if you text GIVE to 70077 that adds £5 to DEC appeal fund (+standard network charges).

In the end, there is little many of us can do from afar but if the least we can do is donate something towards the aid efforts I guess it is better than nothing.