OK gang. I know there is flooding happening in the US and that a lot of people on the East Coast have been hard done by when it comes to Irene. If you want to help those people, I suggest giving funds to the Red Cross at this link – Hurricane Irene.
Now, I just have to say that here in the US we are pretty lucky, no matter the fact that we are in a Presidential race and that makes life barely tolerable. We have functioning (for the most part) governments and institutions like the Red Cross to help us out when the going gets all blown away and floody.
Folks in the Bahamas are a little less fortunate when some total douchebag of a storm rolls up out of the ocean and wrecks havoc on the good Bahamian folk. I was directed to one organization that is doing a good job and if you want to help, I suggest you visit Bahamas Habitat.
This is a good first step to provide immediate support.
Now… down the line… if anyone is interested in maybe helping me examine the legal, tax and regulatory playing field, I would love examine the possibility of creating a Bahamas wide community foundation.
(Wikipedia) Community foundations (CFs) are instruments of civil society designed to pool donations into a coordinated investment and grant making facility dedicated primarily to the social improvement of a given place. Community foundations are a global phenomenon with 1400 existing around the world of which over 700 are in the United States.
I actually know a thing or two about community foundations, having worked at two of them… one that was brand new and one of the world’s largest. They are great tools to bettering society and can be particularly useful when it comes to distributing aid to orgs doing good work in times of disaster. So, that’s just an idea… let me know if you might be able to help me look into that, ya know, after the immediate needs are taken care of.
- Unique Post
Hey Bjorn,
The Bahamian people are an incredibly resilient and resourcefull type of folks. Hurricanes and severe Tropiical storms are a fact of life for them. Remembering that the Bahamian economy is largely dependant on tourism, I believe that the best thing we can do for them is to continue our patronage. Infusing our dollars into local micro-economies is most helpfull in getting the ball rolling again. Stop-gap-measures are only temporary at best and it’s questionable whether they’re truly helpfull at all. It would be so easy for the travelling angler to say…”okay, I’ll just go to Belize or Mexico this year till things get better in the Bahama’s”. That doesn’t help them! nor would the injection of a pocket-full of charitable change help them in their time of need. They need to continue “business as usual” to make ends meet. Local fisherman need to sell fish/conch and crawfish…lodges need clients and posh resorts need guests. Take that away and they’re busted!
I’ve just seen photo’s of my most favorite place on earth, post Hurricane Irene (The Duck Inn and Orchid Gardens- Govenor’s Harbour, Eleuthera Bahama’s). I was truly crestfallen!. They took the brunt and eye of Cat3- Hurricane Irene’s wrath!. Ammenities that I’m used to won’t be there and things won’t be as pretty as one would expect…but that won’t stop me from visiting soon.
Most times, it’s about the fishing that causes us to venture forth, then agiain, sometimes, it has to be about the people that makes us visit. I’m planning to do just that. I’ll rent a car, buy local produce, fuel-up with $5 dollar-a-gallon gas, attend the Friday night fish fry and purchase a few large Crawfish tails and Grouper fillets for dinner. That’s what they want…that’s what they need…”business as usual”.
I commend you on your charitable efforts and concern for the Bahamian people. I whole-heartedly hope it takes off!.
Best regards,
Henry