As a mere observer I feel a deep compassion, as I know do all of you, for those who have suffered at the hands of this terrible disaster. I've donated to a number of charities focused on providing immediate assistance to those who have lost their homes and loved ones in this tragedy. In this fast moving world of accelerated daily news, it is easy to sometimes forget the human consequence of these events as such, I wanted to emplore you all to donate what you can to this cause.

One of the charitable organisations I am fond of for their "grass roots" and egalitarian appraoch to helping others is Khalsa Aid who recently release this statement:
Note: you can see more here.

PRESS RELEASE – KHALSA AID: 16TH MARCH 20011

Most of you will have seen the tragedy that has struck Japan, firstly with the earthquake, the tsunami that followed and now the fallout from the nuclear plant. Some of you have been asking what Khalsa Aid is doing to help in this disaster. Planning

From day 1, Khalsa Aid has been assessing the situation, having made direct contact with a number of Government authorities, fellow Sikhs living in the area, as well as other charity organisations involved in similar work to KA. Currently the overriding message is that only government-approved organisations are being allowed in the area. Indeed the International Rescue Corp (IRC) based in the UK was turned away simply to return to the UK having achieved nothing. See link below covering this news in more detail:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12756366

The local Gurdwara in Tokyo have prepared Langar to serve to those in need, but have been prevented from getting to the affected areas. All transportation to Sendai and other towns hit by the tsunami has ceased.

Rest assured KA is keen support the rescue efforts in Japan by offering our seva as soon as is practicably possible. Some of our most senior and experienced relief workers are on standby, ready to leave for Japan whenever the opportunity arises. We are very conscious that we do not want to waste Sangath’s money in sending volunteers to Japan only to be turned away, like with the IRC.

Ravinder Singh CEO, currently in Haiti with 2 other volunteers, is returning to the UK immediately to assess the situation in Japan.

Khalsa Aid is also assessing the situation at the Libyan Tunisia border, where some 250,000 refugees are stranded and living in torrid conditions.

Please refer to the KA website where we will keep the Sangath updated as soon as we can on both of these projects…………