Don't pull the covers over your head just yet

Do you ever have one of those mornings where you think the world is crazy and you should just stay in bed? It happened to me this morning. My clock radio went off and the first two stories were about the loss of life in China's earthquake and the continuing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Sometimes things seem overwhelming, but then I realized there are people who rush into these large scale disasters ready to help.

I've been learning a lot about the Central Emergency Response Fund.  The CERF is the UN’s central donation facility. Basically, it works out that countries and private donors can give money to the CERF and it will make sure that the resources go where they are most needed.  Rapid response requires, well, the ability to get to the crisis fast and start working to save lives. As we have seen in Myanmar, you need people on the ground as soon as possible to reduce loss of life and coordinate emergency response. The CERF also provides resources to the slow moving humanitarian disasters like cholera, malaria, and the protection of internally displaced people. 

I have such respect for anyone who has the know-how and the willingness to go into places that have been hit with natural or man-made disasters.  I can only imagine the challenges involved and the hardship that these emergency responders see first hand. I feel like I can do my very small part and give you a link to more information about CERF and how you can help too.  Learn more at: http://www.unfoundation.org/cerf/index.asp 

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