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Disbelief. Sadness. Helplessness. Admiration. Compassion.

The world watches with a deluge of emotions since Japan got hit by an earthquake and tsunami last Friday. Houses swept and swallowed, cars and boats tossed about like toys, and towns of people buried without a trace, have shocked us as scenes of the situation unfold. To make matters worse, a possible nuclear blowout teeters as several reactors are damaged.

Our colleague, a photographer from Tokyo, had a scare when he could not contact his wife and family in Tokyo for several hours on Friday. Since then, he keeps tab of the situation with live video feeds on his iMac and constant calls. The danger of radioactive leaks has prompted him to get his wife and two-year-old son here as soon as possible. Just yesterday evening, this urgency heightens as another earthquake with a magnitude of 6 struck. This time at Shizuoka prefecture, which is just a few hours drive from Tokyo.

Much have been said about the resoluteness and stoic calmness of the Japanese people in the face of adversity. Experts have resounded that Japan is possibly the best prepared country for a natural calamity.

Yet, the country needs help like any other during difficult times.

We can help by donating to aid organisations such as Red Cross, getting our family and friends to do likewise, buying products of Japanese origin, or simply offering a prayer. These little gestures will help our Japanese neighbours recover from the catastrophic damage in the next few years.

Here are some ways to help out:

1. DONATE TO SINGAPORE RED CROSS (SRC)
Donate $50 to the “Japan Disaster” fund by sms-ing to 75772.
Donate cash (or by cheque) to SRC directly at 15 Penang Lane, Singapore 238486 during the hours:
Mondays to Fridays 9.30am-9pm,
Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays 9.30am – 6pm.
For more information, visit this link http://www.redcross.org.sg/Japan-Disaster-2011.phtml

2. DONATE THROUGH GROUPON
Groupon introduced an online offer to let customers donate $5, $10 or $25 to support emergency and relife efforts in Japan and other affected areas. All donations will be given to the Singapore Red Cross.

For more information, visit this link http://www.groupon.sg/deals/singapore/support-emergency-relief-efforts-in-japan-and-other-affected-areas-all-donations-will-be-given-to-the-red-cross/715829794

3. HEAD DOWN TO BLU JAZ CAFE
Blu Jaz Cafe in conjunction with Mercy Relief, Media:Comm,Vivid Creations, Wayo-Kai Singapore and Ayaschool is holding a charity function tomorrow (17 March). The event named “Gambatte! Japan from Singapore” will raise funds and channel them through Mercy Relief.

For more informaton, visit this link http://www.blujaz.net/14th-march-19th-march/

4. BUY VIRTUAL SWEET POTATOES
If you’re a fan of FramVille, CityVille or FrontierVille, you can help buy buying certain digital crops during your game. 100% of the proceeds from the purchase of radishes in FarmVille, sweet potatoes in CityVille, or kobe cows in FrontierVille will go towards Save the Children’s Japan Earthquake Tsunami Emergency Fund.

For more information, visit this link http://www.zynga.org/

5. HARNESS THE POWER OF TWITTER
Twitter has detailed ways you can help with the relief efforts. Not only have they updated Japan’s mobile website with the latest information on the disaster, but they have also published a list of hashtags to tweet and/or follow related to the crisis. Here are some key hashtags to remember:

#Jishin: focuses around general earthquake information
#Anpi: a hashtag for the confirmation of the safety of individuals or places
#Hinan: Evacuation information
#311care: a hashtag regarding medical information for the victims
#PrayforJapan: A general hashtag for support and best wishes for victims of the crisis

6. BUY iPHONE APPS
Some App Store developers and publishers are donating the entire proceeds of sales of their apps to the Japanese relief efforts for a limited time. Capcom is donating all proceeds from the sale of Super Street Fighter IV for the iPhone, which currently sells for $0.99 in the App Store, from Mar. 15 to Mar. 21. Japanese developer Motion Portrait, which has 12 iPhone apps for sale, has reduced the price of each to $0.99 and is donating all proceeds from all sales to relief efforts between now and Mar. 31. Tunemark Radio for the iPad is also donating all proceeds of the sales of its $0.99 app to the Red Cross and Salvation Army in support of Japan through Mar. 20.
For more info, click these links:
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/monsterhunterfrontier/news.html?sid=6303986
http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=1401723
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/03/15/zynga-ngmoco-donating-to-japan-through-ios-games/

7. EMBED THIS ICON ON YOUR WEBSITE OR EMAIL
Download this “Help Japan Overcome” icon and stick it on your website or email. This would give your sphere of contacts an instant link on how to help. Click this link to download.