CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
How To Create A Worldwide Disaster Relief Organization

Because Shrila Prabhupada’s mission has a global vision, Krishna Disaster Relief is also global in scope. And this is not difficult to accomplish.

Since one of the key points to the entire Krishna Disaster Relief concept is to show the world Lord Krishna coming to the rescue, it is vital that when the media says we are providing disaster relief in a certain part of the world (because we told them we are)—that this is, in fact, happening.

Again, this is not difficult to do. There is not a country in the world that ISKCON cannot get Krishna Disaster Relief to, within a matter of minutes.

But first, let me remind you that it is quality that counts here, not quantity. This is the guiding principal. Again, who criticizes the man who runs into a burning building but is only able to bring out a two of the six children trapped inside?

On the international level, there are several things that can be automatically done to render assistance. I want to say again that all of this can be increased in amount. What I am about to point out is a legitimate, international framework that although simple, is nonetheless valid and worthy, even at this introductory level. Call it a first step.

Furthermore, with Krishna Disaster Relief established as an active member of NVOAD, its presence on the global stage will be readily accepted. I cannot stress enough the importance of establishing ISKCON’s membership with NVOAD—and most likely, with InterAction, too. This will open so many doors.

Furthermore, just as FEMA is America’s lead organization for responding to our country’s needs during times of disaster, within the United Nations there is another disaster relief organization. Worldwide in nature, it is referred to as UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). With Krishna Disaster Relief’s membership with NVOAD established as a reference point, it is totally conceivable that our membership with UNHCR is only a matter of applying. As you can imagine, this would open a whole other dimension for Krishna Disaster Relief to participate in. This blueprint is the framework for Krishna Disaster Relief’s international acceptance onto the global stage.

I want to now describe what Krishna Disaster Relief should actually do on the global level during disasters.

To begin with, in order to respond within minutes to a disaster, anywhere in the world, a data base needs to be created by computer and kept updated. Hard copies of everything should be also kept. This would take about a year to set up and install. The computer will store vital information on every country in the world. This information can be obtained by having someone from Krishna Disaster Relief visit in person all the various embassies that are located in Washington, D.C. Some countries may have their embassies located in a different location, such as New York City, so some research is required here. But the general idea is to initially visit every country’s embassy.

Just think of it. Here is an opportunity for devotees to walk up to a country’s embassy and knock on the door with something extremely worthwhile to talk about. Friends can be made, prasadam cookies distributed, and the data base I am referring to created and maintained.

On a yearly basis these records can be brought up to date. On our initial visit, we can explain the importance of keeping our records on them accurate. We can show them a copy of a questionnaire that will be mailed to them every year to help us keep things current. Better yet, perhaps this updating can be done by a simple phone call or E-mail.

Concerning this data base, what Krishna Disaster Relief needs is the means to instantly access vital information on any country, anywhere in the world, from its central computer. I am referring to information about that country’s disaster relief structure and ISKCON’s activities located there. A detailed map of the country should be part of each country’s computer file.

What follows is an example of the type of information that needs to be gathered. Of course, this will apply to any country, but let’s pretend that there is a massive earthquake in Italy. And remember, this data base is going to give Krishna Disaster Relief the ability to legitimately respond to any worldwide disaster, within minutes.

First of all, the data will be alphabetized by country. Using this program, "Italy" is typed and entered into the computer. This brings to the screen all the vital statistics that are needed—listed in order of importance for us. This information has come directly from our visit to the Italian embassy.

1. Pay To The Order Of—What we need here (for each country) is the name that we are to write on our check. Perhaps it will be the name of the embassy. Perhaps Italy has its own disaster relief agency and that is what is written on the check. Maybe the check will be made out to a certain individual. Until we speak with the staff at the Italian embassy we will not know.

2. Where To Send The Relief Check—Does Italy want our relief check sent to their embassy or to an address in Italy? To what entity and to what address do we put on the envelope?

3. To whom And To Where Our Disaster Relief Package Is Sent. This will be discussed in just a moment.

4. The Name Of The Person Inside Italy’s Embassy Who Will Be Our Main Contact Person (including his/her title, phone number, fax, E-mail and position). Also, The Name Of A Second Person (in case the primary contact person is gone for some reason—also his/her title, phone number, fax, E-mail, and position).

5. The Name And Address Of Italy’s American Embassy (including phone numbers, fax and E-mail)—After our relief check has been mailed, we want to send a copy of that check and a letter from Krishna Disaster Relief to our contact person in Italy’s embassy. This should help us receive from the Italian government an official letter of appreciation.

6. The Name Of The Temple President And Address Of ISKCON’s Italian Temple/Temples (including telephone numbers, fax, E-mail, etc.)—If there is not a temple located in a certain country, then we would want similar information—in that country’s computer record—on the nearest temple.

7. A Brief Description About That Country’s Temple or Temples—Number of devotees, do they have a Food For Life program, who is the FFL manager, location of the temple, nearest airport, contact persons at the temple besides the temple president (including phone, fax, E-mail, etc.)? Also, include the GBC jurisdiction. This GBC individual may not live in Italy, but will need to be contacted. These records also need to be kept current.

8. A Brief Description About Italy’s Internal Disaster Relief Organization—This is very important. Does the country have a specific program? Who runs it? What are the individual’s names, phone numbers, addresses, etc.? Perhaps this is the organization that will receive our disaster relief check. If devotees want to enter a specific country to render aid, then all this information will be immensely valuable. The whole idea is that people like to be kept informed and we also want to work with each country’s existing authorities—that is, with their own disaster relief organization. Include here specifics on Italy’s participation with UNHCR—again with all the contact information that we might need. If a given country has several disaster relief agencies active inside it, what we want to have in our computer’s file is a brief picture of the chain-of-command. Which agency is the lead agency? Who activates who? Determine from that country’s embassy staff which agency we should work with first.

Of course it needs to be determined how severe a disaster must be before Krishna Disaster Relief sends that country a relief check. We also need to consider the types of disasters—natural or manmade. In any given country, on any given day of the year, there are disasters. A gas station explodes and kills three people. This is a disaster, too. In any event, some criterion needs to be established. Probably along the lines of what is reported as major news. Is CNN reporting it? This point needs some discussion. Of course, this suggests that Krishna Disaster Relief needs to keep its "disaster relief finger" on the world’s pulse at all times. If not, a sudden disaster will happen without us even knowing about it. The greatest hero isn’t that kind of a hero.

Here is the general procedure: When a disaster does occur, in any country, all we have to do is go to that country’s computer file and write out a check and send it accordingly. How big a check is another thing that needs to be determined. Since these are major disasters, I would think that $250 would be the bare minimum. Again, this is a legitimate response that can be made instantly by Krishna Disaster Relief.

There is one more thing that Krishna Disaster Relief can do for Italy. A basic, disaster relief package containing actual relief items can be sent by air express. This large box could be standardized to contain predetermined items. I’m sure that a visit to the American Red Cross would tell us what to include. But off the top of my head I would imagine that it would contain flashlights and batteries, basic medical supplies, a couple of teddy bears, blankets, prasadam in the form of dried fruits and other nonperishable items. This is just a partial list but it does give you the idea.

By contacting the major airlines, I am sure that the air freight charges will be free and in total I am suggesting about a $250 value relief package—besides the check. Again, in the future all of this can be increased in size. But here is a sincere and actual relief effort.

The best thing is to send the package to the temple president in Italy, who in turn could personally deliver it to the actual relief effort taking place there—all quickly determined from our computer information. But, our computer records, or the situation itself, may indicate to send the box elsewhere.

Finally, all of our relief efforts need to be documented and this documentation organized and stored. If at all possible, the temple president should take photographs. As part of our comprehensive plan, each temple president should be provided with a disposable camera that he can use and then send back to us for developing.

What I have given here constitutes the minimum framework for a valid Hare Krishna international disaster relief agency. This can be set up and maintained without much effort. Once established, if there is ever a major disaster in the world, presto, Krishna Disaster Relief can respond in the form of a relief check and a relief package. Several boxes can be set aside—ready for same day shipping. And then, if at all possible, devotees can actually enter the disaster area and personally distribute prasadam. This would be our goal. But even without directly going there, at least we can honestly say that we did help.

To end this chapter, I want to point out that what we have here is Krishna Disaster Relief working on two separate stages—an American effort with NVOAD, and a global effort using the framework above. Our global effort will be linked to UNHCR. What we have is Krishna Disaster Relief affiliated with both NVOAD and UNHCR, as an active member of both. And, as I indicated earlier, probably affiliated with InterAction as well, since this organization has a very high profile.