Now that some time has past we start to hear from people from all quarters. The Anti Nuclear folks are out as well as the pro nuclear people and the most despicable folks, the ones who claim to raise money for Japan, but are really raising it for themselves are out in full force. Please, know who you are giving too before you give. Questions have been asked if the US could handle an event such as this, and I have to admit, as one who has been working in Emergency Management, that no we could not. We are not ready for an event like this but there really is no way to plan for something like this either. Remember, entire towns have been washed away.
So what do we do? Well we pray! When all else fails, pray! Pray for the people of Japan, pray for those who will be going to help the search and recovery of the people who are missing. Pray for the scientists working to solve the nuclear problem and of course pray for all of us to hep us make sense out of all of this. If you are looking for a practical thing to do you can help assemble Health Kits. These kits contain the basic necessities of life and can be assembled at low cost and sent to organizaitons like IOCC for distribution. If you would like to do this please follow the instructions on this page to assemble the kits. If the kits are not complete or are assembled wrong they cannot be used.
If you are looking to help support work going on in Japan, please give to charities you know about. Most churches have charities that have funds for work such as this. In the Orthodox Church we have the IOCC who has begun accepting donations. The Red Cross is always an option although I personally have some problems with how much of the money raised actually goes to the field. Be an informed giver.
From a mental health stand point, try not to saturate yourself with the coverage. Yes be informed, but turn the channel now and again and watch something uplifting, if you can find it, or just turn it off and read a book. Talk to your children about this and let them know that they are safe. Things like this affect children more than we like to think. Stay calm and again pray.
