Disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in haiti as a guide. But first a look at the recoverly effort. Its been 11 days since haiyan hit the country with record force. Survivors continue to wait for the basics, food, water, and medicine. Our situation here is not so good. It smells bad. Its hot, and its very cold at night. There is also a shortage of food. Reporter aid is slowly trickling to the hardest hit and most remote parts of the island nation. Helicopters from the u. S. Navy Aircraft CarrierGeorge Washington have been dropping supplies to isolated communities in and around tacloban, the city most damaged by the super typhoon. Its a mounting humanitarian crisis. Millions are living in tent cities, and the government is beginning to face criticism for slow response. Search waiting to help us, to help get our people situated in a better situation as quickly as possible. Reporter the United Nations estimate 13 Million People are affected by the typhoon. 4 million have been displaced. When the storm hit the u. N. Asked 3. 1 million in aid to the philippines. As of the weekend only 72 million of that has been given. The u. S. Just announced an additional 10 million in relief aid brings the American Government commitment to 37 million. Nearly 9,000 u. S. Troops are supporting operations in the philippines where the United States was the colonial power for half a century. The navy has delivered 626,000 pounds of relief supplies. The powerful pictures of suffering filipinos broadcast around the globe have a positive affect on Disaster Relief donations, according to the United Nations world food program, individuals relate to something known as the identifiable victim affect and open their wallets to help even if they have no relation to the country or the people who live there. This spark of Charitable Giving usually lasts for three months. This was true after the 2010 haiti earthquake. Hurricane katrina in 2005, and the indonesia tsunami in 2014. In that disaster americans donated 1. 6 billion. The philippine crisis is in its early days but cash is rolling in to relief organizations. The Salvation Army says it now has received more than 1 million. Another reports it has received 1. 5 million from just over 10,000 individual donors. Although aid is on its way, widespread infrastructure damage continues to hamper the relief efforts. Were not able to move, and residents of tacloban has not reached much so far. Its not anyones fault. Its just the complexity ier access. So aid is on its way. There is some process. Many roads have been cleared, cellphones are beginning to work again, but aid workers struggle with the 4,000 dead. Victims being buried in mass graves before families could even identify them. Experts warn now is the peak period of danger for Infectious Diseases to spread. Joining us now to discuss the aid and the huge task ahead in the philippines , bob, let me start with you. The fact that there is an organization specifically dedicated to disaster philanthropy suggests this is a different discipline a different area of relief supply. How is it different, and what are you up against in a Disaster Relief situation that you arent in other charities . Well, what weve begun to learn is that disaster giving is a very ad hoc thing. People are motivated by stories that they see on television and read in newspapers, and they want to give. They want to do something immediately. But what were learning is that 90 of all dollars given to disaster philanthropy is given within 90 days after a Natural Disaster. Were trying to get people to focus on the full arc of what needs to happen in Disaster Relief. More money going into planning and preparation and more money being focused on the longterm recovery and rebuilding. Robert, how do you strike that balance between wanting people to make a sustained relationship with an organization like yours, and the increased interest that comes around a disaster like the philippines typhoon . Well, i think that bob points out a good thing. At save the children we do deal with this full arc. We preposition supplies. We buy supplies beforehand, specialist type things like medical supplies for newborn and pediatric supplies, and we preposition those in key places around the world so that when a disaster happens we are able to get the right things in at the right time. When the disaster is in full motion we use local staff and key National Staff that surge in and deal with the disaster for then and then also stay around for the long term for the recovery period. Alexander, were talking about a different pool of givers, arent we . When were talking about disaster philanthropy, and how do you keep people from being ripped off . Yes, absolutely. I think a lot of people are concerned about getting ripped off. We also see a lot of people, like bob said, giving responsebly and to media solicitation rather than doing their Due Diligence and research that they might do in normal longterm giving. We urge people to seek out these resources and give proactively instead of the phone call, the email and the solicitation in the mail. But people are people, and when they feel called, moved, motivated, they want to act quickly, dont they . Is that where a lot of mistakes are made . Not in a sustained relationship, charity that you give to year after year, but want to go respond to a specific event. Yeah, thats right. I think that we see that it leads to problems sometimes. The other panelists mentioned most of the money is given early on in disasters and if you look at early Disaster Response its not always money. You see logistical problems in airports and because of the infrastructure in these places have been destroyed. Often money earned in early stages is not a bottleneck to recovery. Were going to take a short break now and continue our discussion in a moment. This is inside story. vo Al Jazeera America we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. The efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. vo we pursue that story beyond the headline, past the spokesperson, to the streets. Thousands of riot Police Deployed across the capitol. vo we put all of our Global Resources behind every story. It is a scene of utter devastation. vo and follow it no matter where it leads, all the way to you. Al jazeera america. Take a new look at news. The stream is uniquely interactive television. In fact, we depend on you, your ideas, your concerns. All these folks are making a whole lot of money. You are one of the voices of this show. I think youve offended everyone with that kathy. Hold on, theres some room to offend people, im here. We have a right to know whats in our food and monsanto do not have the right to hide it from us. So join the conversation and make it your own. Watch the stream. And join the conversation online ajamstream. Welcome back to inside story im ray suarez. Were talking about International Aid efforts to help the victims of typhoon haiyan in the philippines. Still us with from new york, bob, from the center of disaster philanthropy. Robert of save the children, and in san francisco, alexander. Robert, you mentioned earlier in the program prepositioned, being ready for things that happen around the world. In this case given the particular profile of the typhoon, did that help . It definitely helped. We had two planeloads, two 747s that we dispatched one from europe, one from dubai with those specific medicines and clinical supplies arriving in cebu over the weekend, and if we had not done that, we would have to wait for more donations to come in to be able to mobilize and try to actually try to purchase those things. Having that beforehand we got the right things in at the right time. Wasnt there a last mile problem that stuff was making it to the philippines, to the archipelago, but could not necessarily get from where it was to where it was needed . Well, thats clearly by one of the problems over the past week. We have been able to find barns and other things that weve been able to get from cebu to the leyte, to tacloban. That has been one of the bigger challenges. Thats always one of the bigger challenges. But were starting to see that move, and were starting up our six clinics soon. It is starting to move now. Bob, if we had shown the people at home video reports from living conditions, the other 51 weeks of the year, which in some parts of the country are pretty bleak, they might not be motivated to give. There is a tendency to be wary of efforts to give aid for systemic problems as opposed to disasters. What is that difference . What is thecal clues that is going on in peoples heads . You pinpointed one of the challenges with disaster philanthropy. The philippines problems did not start with this particular cyclone. Theyve had earthquake and 20 big typhoons during this past year. There is a lot of issues that have been in place in the philippines for a long time. A very poor population vulnerable coastal areas, poor infrastructure. But those are the sorts of things that as you said its harhard to get doer dollars to o to that if any sort of sustained meaningful way. It takes those devastating pictures we see on television or read about to really motivate donors to want to do something, to really inspire them to understand the situation. And i think disasters like this sort of rip the veneer that hides a lot of things that are going on within our country or in a city like new orleans that we either dont know about or would like to ignore. So bob, having said exactly what you just said, is it considered Good Practice . Is it considered honest to take some of the enormous flow that accompanies Disaster Response, people move through their compassion to help others elsewhere in the world, and to use that money to make sure that the next typhoon is not as destructive . Well, thats where we need to really focus our attention now, building resilient communities. Resilience means being table bounce back. Take the blows and not have the kind of utter chaos we have experienced in this most recent yes, yes, i got that, but how much of an obligation is there on the part of the agencies to say yes, were taking your money. Were buying medicine. Were buying portable kits to purify water so people dont start to get waterborn diseases, and were going to do the things in the philippines that are necessary to make sure that the next typhoon does not kill as many people . Yes, i think there is an obligation for oh nonprofits to be transparent about that, but also for donors to be intentional about what theyre going. Right now we have a disconnect, many nonprofits want to do more in recovery, rebuilding, resilients, but thats not clearly understood among donors. Donors need to be intentional about why theyre giving the money that theyre giving, and i think nonprofits need to be more transparent and more accountable about what theyre doing and why theyre doing it. Alexander, are they obliged to be that much more transparent even if it might mean that people would give less money . Yes, absolutely. I think charities and nonprofits need to fulfill their side of the bargain, which i think means they need to be transparent about how and why theyre spending the money. I think donors have a misconceived ideas about where their money should go and what the most effective forms of giving would look like. Its incumbent on charities to till us what this looks like in a more thoughtful fashion. You were talking about why don donors heart strings are pulled by disaster but not necessarily development issues. I dont know going problem problems in the philippines dont always get this type of media coverage. Would that change the behavior of people who want to help, alex . I think so. I think a lot of people who are giving in response to disasters are motivated on by the fact that its on the news every day for the week. Not only are the images bad but its news worthy. This matters right now. When you hear about Ongoing Development issues they dont have the same salience because theyre not reported in the same way. So if you find out after the fact that the money you sent to help people who were made homeless by katrina, to help people who need immediate assistance after the haitian earthquake, that its still stuck in the pipeline, is that make you likely to give more or less the next time something terrible happens in the world. The real question is if thats the right decision. In haiti the money needed to go to the rebuilding effort instead of classical natural relief on the first day. That can be good, but it can also be a problem. The government of haiti had little control of how it was going to be spent. And there could be issues. How exactly you find the right accountability and transparency to ensure that donations are spent well, i dont think its an easy, onesize fits all answer. I think donors need to think harder going into this. Robert, you have so much to say, ill come back with you right after the break. Well continue our discussion of aid and typhoon haiyan in a minute. Audiences are intelligent and they know that their consider this the news of the day plus so much more. We begin with the government shutdown. Answers to the questions no one else will ask. It seems like they cant agree to anything in washington no matter what. Antonio mora, Award Winning and hard hitting. Weve heard you talk about the history of suicide in your family. Theres no status quo, just the bottom line. But, what about buying shares in a professional athlete . Welcome back to inside story. Im ray sores. Were talking about the as the y to help Natural Disasters like typhoon haiyan, and what about the longer view. Bob with the center of disaster philanthropy. Robert with save the children is here with me in washington, and in san francisco, alexander of give well. You just heard that exchange between new york and san francisco, and save the children is trying to cultivate longterm relationships with donors but is called upon in the moment when disaster strikes. How do you do both duties well . The focus right now is on the immediate needs, and i think that is what we need to focus on for several weeks and months to come. I was a First Responder in indonesia after the tsunami and was there for several months. We worked on a program there for five years. I have to say that the resources need to be spent in the immediate period, but there need to be resources for the massive recovery and rebuilding that is going to happen in the philippines over the next decade, actually. This is a huge disaster and it will take a long time. Look at all these people in the Natural Disaster centers. Their homes have been destroyed, wound care, basic sanitation, critical things right now that are necessary. But five years from now were talking about getting people back in their homes. Were talking about economic systems, getting back up and going. This iswere in it for the long haul. Does that move people who give you money in the same way, and can you open a dialogue with them that informs them what the real needs are . You got their attention. Here is this terrible event, but the need goes on long after that first aid is delivered. Right, and i think the that there are certain donors who only want to give during that period, and we honor that and focus in on that, but we recognize that its not a hard stop. Its a continuum. I think the public is astute. They understand that it takes an ounce of prevention to help. So the numbers that die are less, and the impact on peoples lives are less, and that things just dont happen immediately. In the states we see things like katrina. We see the issues dont always get resolved in the first couple of months. It does take time. I think in general the public donors understand that. Bob, in the last day while getting ready for this program i saw very smart, very well thought out device saying tie giving if youre worried and you want to make sure that the money goes where you want it to go, and untied giving because the people you are giving it to know how the money would best be spent. Which is it . If i am sitting at home, and i want to help out, do i give it to a specific use or do i want to send that money in and say make a decision and use it the best way possible. Usually providing unrestricted donations is better for the nonprofit organization. In natural Disaster Relief we do have organizations who are very skilled in this area. They have the people on the ground. Theyve got the expertise, communications, transportation, and i would sadie sasster relief is a time when you want to find those professionally run organizations, and give them the freedom to make the right decisions of how it needs to be allocated. And the trend is to make gift more restricted, and what is leading to a lot of that is some uncertainty about how those dollars are going to be used. If an organization can be more transparent about its response to disaster fill pla philanthropy you want to put your trust in them. Its trust that you got to earn, but you want to allocate those dollars in the most effective and meaningful way possible. Alexander, recent Public OpinionResearch Found the more money youve got, the more money you intend to give, the more likely you are to make it a tied donation, that is for a specific purpose because you worry more about whether the money gets properly spent. Yes, i think thats part of it, and its a little more complicated. Bigger more sophisticated donors are doing their work and theyre more aware of their options, probably. They may be taking advantage of things that people who are giving a 5 to 10 through cell phon phonecalls, and i agree, if the donationings are unrestricted, otherwise it ties their hands. How do you talk to donors, and they may not be in a position to do real Due Diligence. Things they can do to protect themselves and their money during a disaster splurge of giving . I think two things. The first piece of advice i give is to give cash and not clothes or actually goods. This is the instinct that people have. I see people on tv, theyre really badly off. Anything i can give will help. But the logistical nightmares of getting something from the United States to the philippines that, aid can be amenful. It can clog up logistic systems and be destructive. Dont give clothes or canned goods, give cash, and give it pro actively. Dont wait for an organization to call you on the phone or email you. Find an organization that you want to support, maybe one that youve supported in the past and you feel confident in, and give, dont wait for them to come knocking on your door. By giving cash resources it allows aid organizations to buy things in country and more culturally appropriate that people were trying to reach know how to use and are familiar with. A lot of stuff that you see clogged on the tarmac after big largescale disasters, thats kind of the stuff that people send from around the world that actually is clogging up that flem thats it from the team in washington dc. But you can keep the debate going by logging on to our facebook page. Or twitter financ twitter. Thanks for watching. Welcome to Al Jazeera America. Im del walters. These are the stories we are following for you. Were go doing do everything we can to try to protect the American People from this awful law. 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