Madam, – On Thursday evening, I wanted to make a donation to the relief effort in Haiti.
Like many people, I like to donate to charity anonymously.
I visited the websites of the Red Cross, Unicef and Concern, each of which refuses to accept money unless I supply my name, address, e-mail etc. You can’t bypass their demands for extensive personal data.
Then I visited the Goal website. It also asked for the information, but it allowed me to push the final donation button without giving it. So, in the end, I donated to Goal.
A charity does not need the address or email of a donor to complete a credit card transaction. They can validate the card user the same way that every online retailer does.
I believe these charities want my data in order to store it for future mailshots. This is part of the hard-sell culture of professional charity fundraising. I no longer donate to charities that demonstrate this culture. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Two Cuban field hospitals were established in Haiti within 12 hours of the devastating earthquake. These were set up by Cuban embassy staff who had seen their own residence destroyed by the shock.
By midday on Wednesday, the chief medic confirmed 19 surgeries had been performed at the hospitals so far that day. A further 30 specialist emergency doctors had arrived to support the 344 Cuban medics already in the country by Wednesday evening. Cuban officials are hoping to open three further field hospitals in the capital over the next few days, and have 1,000 fully trained and equipped doctors on standby, ready to fly in.
It would be nice to have the speed of the Cuban response recognised. – Yours, etc,