i want to help in japan, do volunteer work there, i'm 16 and soon 17, and a Swedish Citizen, do you know any website where i can find more info about volunteering there?
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No
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Unless you have extensive medical, engineering, or logistics experience in post-disaster zones, or you have expertise in setting up a large-scale emergency water cleaning and sanitation system in a post-disaster, low-infrastructure environment, or you have experience with dealing with large numbers of dead human and animal bodies in a low-infrastructure environment, and unless you are *already* affiliated with an emergency response agency or company that has a local partner in Japan (and you have, therefore, been fully vetted regarding your credentials and expertise), AND have an invitation from Japan to go there, do NOT go to Japan. If you do, you will be in the way and you will be a drain on resources (food, gas, etc.). This is what the Japanese government and every NGO and nonprofit is requesting! Please, DON'T start gathering food, clothes, medicine, etc. Please, please don't. It is so much cheaper and more efficient for response agencies to buy and ship these items from surrounding areas that are MUCH closer than anywhere in the USA. Plus, it's better for agencies to buy these new, or to accept donations in bulk directly from manufacturers and retailers, rather than going through donations made by countless numbers of individuals, which are often filled with inappropriate items (if you doubt this, go look at the web sites of international aid agencies and see for yourself that they are NOT asking for donated items to send to Japan). Please donate financially to the Japanese Red Cross http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/ Mercy Corps in the USA has set up a donation fund for its partner, Peace Winds Japan, and its emergency assistance on the ground. http://www.mercycorps.org/donate/japan You can see a list of what aid agencies are doing what in Japan here: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/what-are-aid-workers-doing-after-the-japan-quake/ Check the ReliefWeb web site for updates on disaster response http://www.reliefweb.int Also see: Why Waiting to Give to Japan is a Good Idea http://goodintents.org/disaster/why-waiting-to-give-to-japan-is-a-good-idea Also see: Volunteering To Help After Major Disasters (earthquake, hurricane, tropical storm, flood, tsunami, oil spill, etc.) http://www.coyotecommunications.com/stuff/vols_in_disasters.html
