When an earthquake hits, how best to give

Shortlyafter 11 p.m. local time on Friday, Sept. 8, an earthquake struck Morocco,southwest of Marrakesh, devastating villages at the base of the High Atlasmountains. More than 2,900 people were reported killed and more than 5,500injured.

I had taught at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University(UM6P) in Rabat for a week in mid-July. While Rabat is roughly 200 miles northof Marrakesh, UM6P has a Marrakesh campus, and the students and staff with whomI worked were from various parts of Morocco. A handful of students I had taughtat Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) are also from Morocco, and each happened to bethere when the earthquake struck.

Soon I was receiving texts from family, friends andcolleagues to ask if everyone I knew there was accounted for. Several asked foradvice on the best way to donate to help with the relief. Initially, I did notknow the answer to their questions.

I texted the people at UM6P who I worked with to seeif everyone was accounted for and was relieved they were. Almost immediately,students and staff at UM6P assembled packages of supplies to get to those affectedby the earthquake.

I also checked in on my former graduate studentsfrom HKS who were in Morocco when the earthquake struck. They too wereaccounted for.

The question loomed, however, of how best to donate,given the shared desire to donate to efforts that had the best chance ofdirectly helping those affected. In such situations, I always try to do enoughresearch to make sure efforts are legitimate and help the people who most needhelp.

One of my go-to organizations of late has been WorldCentral Kitchen (https://wck.org),the nonprofit run by chef José Andrés. Whether it’s in Puerto Rico, Texas orUkraine, World Central Kitchen seems to have been able to rapidly set upoperations to get food to those affected by disaster. Within days, WorldCentral Kitchen was set up in Morocco.

I also asked my former HKS students who were back inMorocco for advice. Several of them along with other Boston-area students withMorocco ties set up a GoFundMe account (https://www.gofundme.com/f/boston-moroccan-students-unite-for-morocco)that would funnel funds collected to organizations they had carefully vettedfor their effectiveness.

I usually rely on sites like CharityNavigator (www.CharityNavigator.org)to assess the reputation and effectiveness of any charity. World CentralKitchen has a top rating. My students’ GoFundMe effort is not a registerednonprofit, so they have no CharityNavigator rating. Nevertheless, I persist inbelieving they applied the same rigor to the work they did as graduate studentsto the vetting of charities that could best help their families and neighbors.

There is no obligation for anyone to give anythingto any causes they don’t care to. It’s impossible for most people to donate tohelp support those affected by all of the many disasters and crises that hitthe world.

But for those who want to help the victims of theMorocco earthquake, the right thing is to try to do so in whatever way theybelieve might most help those in need.

For me, it might be donating to World CentralKitchen or my former students’ GoFundMe effort. There are, however, plenty ofother ways to help. I trust you to find yours.

Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of "The Simple Art of Business Etiquette: How to Rise to the Top by Playing Nice," is a senior lecturer in public policy, emeritus, at Harvard's Kennedy School. He is also the administrator of www.jeffreyseglin.com, a blog focused on ethical issues.

Do you have ethical questions that you need to have answered? Send them to jeffreyseglin@gmail.com. 

Follow him on Twitter @jseglin

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