Should we send help to Haiti?

[mwanakijiji]

Well.. you must think it is a bad idea; you might think, we have our own problems why should we? you might even ridicule the idea as "overly ambitious" and "unnecessary". Others might even consider the thought of sending a team to Haiti with some relief especially to the outer towns of Haiti is incredibly wasteful and not a welcome idea. But, if you give me few minutes I'm quite sure I'll be able to convince you that we should do this immediately.

For a while I have been thinking of using a natural disaster somewhere else to prepare ourselves by training our own people through a real life catastrophe. I believe this is one of those moments. Remember that late December last year an earthquake hit around the faulty lines of Lake Nyasa and its tremors were felt up to Mbeya Town.. imagine if it had hit in Mwanjelwa! would we have been prepared!? (somebody might say.. unatuchuria, this will never happen to Tanzania because we have peace, harmony and unity!)!

The team should consists of:

a: Medical Doctors
b. Military Engineers
c. Nurses and Medical Assistants
d. Security Officers - Police and Military
e. Translators (French).

Why?

a. To give our own people much needed experience, knowledge and understanding of operating a major relief effort that will help us when the "hour of our need" comes.

b. When the group returns to Tanzania, it should brief the national leadership about its experience and how as a nation can prepare for a major natural or man made disaster. From the group we should be able to constitute emergency preparedness program. Call me nut but I like preparation better and suprises!

c. We will show the world that from our own poverty and national challenges we can still help. People should bear in mind that US is helping in Haiti while international its fighting two unpopular wars, the economy is in recession and internally there are more Americans in desperate conditions than at any other time in their recent history. Why does America in the midst of these challenges still raises to help a country that has no any major national interests to the US?

I believe we too in the midst of our own challenges and incredible realities can and indeed must help the Haitian in this our of darkness!

Who should finance?
I know the most quick reaction to this proposal will be "we don't have money, unless the UN or the US should reimburse us, we will not be able to do this".

I believe we have the means to carry this mission of Help from the Tanzanian People. Something like TZAID. I believe if the President and the Cabinet would sit down and ask the question "how we can help" you'll be amazed at how much resources we have to be able to accomplish this.

Intellectually, i know it is a good idea and if I was somehow in power I would carry it on. Somebody else might think it is a very bad idea.

Tell me why this is a very bad idea.

[realtz]

Yes MJJ I agree with you, when u act to such incideces it is 50% self training and 50% humanitarian act. Imagine where the hell will redcross tz demonstrate the real ocasion of life saving? Kilosa floods are happening slowly and people gets enough time to vacate, take the case of kariakoo thin,close together, shabby flats,what if an incidence hapens there?like fire, quake, terror act etc, so we should send our people in Haiti its a brilliant idea! to learn the real situation scenarios!!

[Ach-F]

Tanzania tumejaliwa kuwa na Vifisadi dagaa ambavyo vinajifunza kutoka kwa Mafisadi papa, haya mambo ya kusaidia waliokumbwa na matatizo sio kipaumbele chao. Wanapenda kutafuna tu pesa ya walipa kodi lakini hawataki kutatua matatizo yao.

[Max Shimba]

I think we need. Hapa duniani kusaidia ni jambo la muhimu sana, na unapo toa msaada mimi binafsi naamini kuwa Mungu anakuona na atakubariki. We have our Kilosa issue, but, hey, Port Au Prince ni kitu kubwa sana. Angalau tutume vijisenti vya kusaidia jamaa wa Heiti.