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I've spent the last few days working with a large number of enthusiastically dedicated individuals who have been sorting out thousands of boxes of donations, transferring them from ADAMS to a warehouse and onto a tractor-trailor.

We've had to turn away a large number of donors. Some have been sending in regular clothes and an unusual odd assortment of utterly unnecessary goods. Now only tents, medical supplies and blankets are being accepted; no exceptions.

One tractor-trailor has been loaded while about 2-3 cratefulls of goods remain in the warehouse. These goods will then be transported to New York where they will sit in a warehouse along with a plethora of donated items from other parts that are waiting a neverending queue to be loaded on a plane. Once they reach Pakistan (most likely Islamabad or Lahore since the main airbase, Chaklala, is filled beyond capacity), there remains the huge task of unloading, sorting and distributing goods. Currently, much of the donated items are inaccessible to NGOs while the government doesn't have the capacity to mobilize everything on its own. It's likely that a lot of the items will reach the blackmarket and end up being re-sold at bazaars.

This is not meant to discourage donations. I would recommend, however, at this point we should look at other alternatives that are logistically more sound.

Please review the following articles:

http://soundvision.com/info/poor/quakeideas.asp
http://www7.naseeb.com/naseebvibes/prose-detail.php?aid=4382