Have you donated? 3 January 2005 at 11:05PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Money Saving Polls 19 replies 3.4K views

Former_MSE_Andrea

Have you donated? A simple question. Have you donated cash to the Tsunami appeal. If so how much?

A. No  
B. No, but am planning to  
C. Yes, up to £10  
D. Yes, £11 to £24  
E. Yes, £25 to £49  
F. Yes, £50 to £99  
G. Yes, £100 to £249  
H. Yes, £250 to £999  
I. Yes £1,000 plus  

To vote in the poll click on this link. To discuss the poll click on reply.

If you'd like to donate more to charity at no cost to you read the Feed the starving at no cost to you article.

RANDY_3

C and ticked gift aid
But considering more.

So all these people paying in at banks and using the newspaper appeals. ARE THEY WASTING MONEY NOT USING GIFT AID by using the dec website?

Craftycarver

F, but will donate more soon through the DEC also I do the gift aid thing.
This is heartbreaking, however I can't help feeling that the likes of the Dafur problem has been pushed into the background, this is wrong, these people are still dying of starvation and disease.

bec_3

I think you are right. We really should not forget all the people who are living through hell else where in the world.

Titus_frogsbutt

Whilst I understand the sentiment, I feel this seems to be an unseemly competition to see who has donated the most. Surely every contribution should be gratefully accepted for what it is. Those who seek publicity by stating "I have given £xxx" are no more worth any thanks than someone who has only given £1.
And by the way, what is happening in Darfur is a man-made abomination, not a natural disaster which could not be avoided!
Has nobody else noticed that St Bob of Geldof has remained quiet throughout all this tsunami stuff? Why, is he not interested in these people? >:(

Craftycarver

As no one gives their names here they can hardly be looking for publicity. Also, what difference does it make whether a disaster is man made or not, the people caught up in it suffer just the same.

Pitstop_2

F (via a couple of means). I will be donating more as soon as I get paid my December salary in the next week or two.

Bright_Eyes_3

I have donated. I also felt it quite important that my initial donation involved some sort of sacrifice - not just the cost of a new pair of winter boots (or whatever!) but actually NOT having them at all.

I plan to set up a monthly contribution to this and other appeals. As other posters have rightly pointed out, the same number of people (150,000) as were wiped out in a few minutes by the Tsunami die of starvation across Africa and the developing world every WEEK!!!

Whatever the reason, man made, nature, bad decisions etc., if we call ourselves a civilised society surely we must do ALL we can.

I am not worried about St Bob's absence (hopefully he is concentrating on tye problems in AFrica - and Mike Reid has taken on a music industry project for the Tsunami appeal.

I don't care if Tony Blair remained on holiday with his family (he is a father and husband also). He was in constant touch as required and save for recalling parliemanet adn pulling all MP's back from holidays, what more could he do. However, he may not want to be reminded that he was behind the public condemnation of the Queen who decided to keep her bereaved Grandsons in Scotland away from public glare and in the bosom of the only family they really knew, when their mother (Diana) was killed. Double standards perhaps but nota hanging offence!

I am worried about the growing number of journalists who MUST be using valuable resources in disaster hit areas. Yes, it's important that the need is kept in the public eye, but wouldn't it be a great coup if ONLY ONE reporter from ANYWHERE in the world was allowed in each region.

If we have a team (perhaps 7 - 8 people at least) from BBC, ITN and Channel 4, all needing food, water, accommodation, transport (fuel is scarce in some places) and many of them are flying around in military helicopters etc, how many are there in total in EACH small zone. Lets assume that Germany, Sweden, France, USA, Japan, Australia, Canada, India, and many more countries with AT LEAST 3 networks apiece are in place. That runs into the hundreds.

What do other posters think? Should we turn off our news channels or complain to the NUJ. Is there actually anything left to report of value?

>:(

Titus_frogsbutt

As no one gives their names here they can hardly be looking for publicity. Also, what difference does it make whether a disaster is man made or not, the people caught up in it suffer just the same.

Ok, feed the world & all that. What I am getting at is that we should just donate whatever we can/want to but not be made to feel less of a person cos someone else gives more. Only the person donating can know the worth of what they are giving.

Titus_frogsbutt

I am worried about the growing number of journalists who MUST be using valuable resources in disaster hit areas.  Yes, it's important that the need is kept in the public eye, but wouldn't it be a great coup if ONLY ONE reporter from ANYWHERE in the world was allowed in each region.
>:(

I agree with your comment about the journo's. They must be getting in the way (and think how much aid could have been sent instead of these people). I hope they and/or their employers have made a reasonable contribution to the effort & not just by reporting it

alwaysatwork

I think that everyone should be able to sign up via the tax system if they wish to pay an extra amount, say 1p in the pound for disasters over seas aid, third world debt relief etc. The government could use this money rather than the general pot money which I suspect the silent majority would rather was not spent on such projects. If I am wrong about the silent majority then everyone one will sign up or donate money via charity or the tax system anyway.

This may seem very hard but if the UK is as caring as it is made out to be then surely the money will be raised anyway. I suspect even with people like me around who don’t want to contribute more money would be raised than there is now.

I am sure some of you are now thinking what a nasty person I am so I would like to explain myself a little.

I recently watch my Dad die probably needlessly due to lack of resources in a NHS hospital. It is a cliché but he never used the NHS, worked all his life and fought in WW11 yet once he had been in hospital a few weeks his pension was reduced as if somehow his bills disappeared while he was in hospital. (Did anyone else know that happened?) The conditions he died in were degrading. The first time he needed the system he was let down.

At the same time as this was happening as part of my job I was visiting houses for Asylum seekers, many of these houses were new or completely renovated with new kitchens bathrooms power showers and new furniture and carpets and their gas and electric bills were paid for them. No card meters for them. All this was available for someone who had just arrived in the country yet my Dad could not get some sponges on a stick he regularly needed to clean his mouth whilst he was ill/dying to make him comfortable. We bought them and they were stolen by other people who presumably needed them and couldn’t get them either.

OK that’s just one example but what about our schools? Our local school is full of druggies and misfits and has terrible GCSE results. I know that’s not PC but it highlights a shed load of other problems we need to deal with as well. In order to get my kids a decent education I have sent them to private school. I know am lucky to be able to do this but I can only do it by working 60 hours a week and going into debt around £16,000 at the moment and it will be more like £26,000 when they leave which I will take me years to pay of once they leave school. Meanwhile I work so much I have no time to enjoy my children. Why don’t we sort our schools out?(for the record I earn £30,000 a year before tax after all that overtime and pay 14,000 of that on school fees.

At this point I could go off on a rant about all the other things we do or don’t spend money on. We found a lot more money and manpower to invade Iraq and kill people looking for none existent WMD than we have helping out people in East Asia or Africa. If the West really cared they would have spent the Iraq money feeding Africa How many unexpected billions have been spent since the firemen were told there was no money in the pot for them? ( I am not a fireman) Anyway I will spare you the rest of my rant. I just think we should get things organised here before we look abroad or overspend on people who have just arrived here, then perhaps mine and many other peoples Dads might be alive, our pensioners might be able to afford to heat and feed themselves, our kids might be educated and ultimately we might be in a better position to help other countries instead of bleeding them dry and pretending we care.

I am truly saddened by events in East Asia but millions die in Africa and have been for decades and ALL of us have done little or nothing, so what’s different now? All I am saying is let those that want to give give but don’t force the rest of us.