Supporter stories

After 13 weeks, the Ready for Anything appeal has finally come to an end. Between 4 February and 3 May the UK government were matching our funds raised to the appeal pound for pound. And I can very proudly say that the UK public were very generous with their support for this appeal, doing everything from jumping out of planes, shaking buckets in the rain, donating pocket money or donating large cash sums. 

But even better than all the money coming in for the appeal for me was learning about our disaster preparedness work. I know I have said it before but learning how simple things can prevent disasters becoming tragedies has been a big eye opener for me. These are simple things like teaching people how to swim, to farm ducks instead of chickens so that they can survive in flooding, to place a schoolbag over a child¹s head in an earthquake - or learning first aid skills and emergency techniques. 

We have all been reading in the papers recently about the eight-story building that collapsed in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh where over 1,000 people were killed. For this disaster ActionAid had a pool of 200 volunteers trained in building collapse rescue. They have been working in collaboration with the fire service and civil defence to support the rescue operation. Although many lives were lost, the value of preparedness work can be seen here: lives were saved as a result of this work. 

People sometimes forget the importance of training and education, but this has been what Ready for Anything appeal has been about: getting people ready. 

What happens next you might ask. We now confirm with the Department of International Development the exact figure to be matched by the UK government and then look at how we are going to spend the money in the places that need it the most - and decide on the work to be done to build resilience.   

A massive thank you to all of those who have supported the appeal and I look forward sharing the final sum raised shortly.

The building collapsed on 24 April at 9am. In the aftermath of the disaster rescue workers - including 200 ActionAid trained volunteers - managed to save 2,400 people from the rubble. Two weeks on there is no hope that survivors remain inside and the rescue operation has become a grim struggle to recover the bodies of the victims. 

Family members continue to line the streets around the disaster, hoping for news of their loved ones and for the dignity of providing them with a proper burial. The number of people still missing is uncertain, but according to some sources it is as many as 1,000.

Bangladesh earns nearly $20 billion a year from exports of the garment products, mainly to Europe and the USA. The Rana Plaza building housed five garment factories making clothing bound for major retailers around the world. Many of these factories supplied Western retailers and clothing brands, who are being globally criticised for putting heavy pressure on prices, resulting in bad pay and conditions for workers.

ActionAid fundraisers Victoria Butler Cole and her sister-in-law Imogen set up a fundraising campaign called the T-Shirt Tax to do something to help. The T-Shirt Tax is designed to give something back to people in developing countries, people who often pay the price for affordable fashion.

Imogen says: “We should be held accountable because we’ve been benefitting from the clothes produced at cheap prices in Bangladesh.”

If you’d like to fundraise in emergencies contact us at events@actionaid.org

>>Pay your T-Shirt Tax now and support ActionAid’s work in Bangladesh

 This horrific incident inspired Victoria Butler-Cole and her sister-in-law Imogen to launch a campaign to raise money for those affected which they are calling The T-shirt Tax.

The building housed four garment factories, supplying British brands and over 300 shops with nearly 4,000 workers. The building had been declared unsafe by engineers, but the owner refused to close the factories. 

Vctoria said that she was prompted to set up a JustGiving page after reading press reports about the disaster and noticing that while there was plenty of criticism of the clothing companies, there was relatively little recognition of individual responsibility, even though we are the people who buy cheap clothes, knowing that they are manufactured in countries where protection for workers is significantly less than it is in the UK.  She felt that there was a real link to people in this country with the Bangladeshi workers which needed to be accepted, and turned into positive action.  She said:
 
“Shoppers should consider donating the difference between what they have paid for clothing in high street stores and what it would have cost them if it had been produced by workers benefiting from the standards of protection enjoyed in this country.”
 
ActionAid Bangladesh has 200 volunteers trained in building collapse rescue who are supporting the rescue operation. They are providing food, water, first aid supplies and emergency equipment and are assisting with medical support for those injured by the disaster. ActionAid Bangladesh will work with those affected to rebuild their lives.
 
Pay your T-shirt tax and support ActionAid’s work in Bangladesh with victims from this disaster, as well as supporting local communities to free themselves from poverty and prepare for future emergencies.

Nicholas Parson did an amazing job as the host, ensuring that the celebrity panellists kept their wits about them. Panellists were comedian Ed Byrne, actor and comedian Hugh Dennis, TV presenter Phillip Schofield and comedy actress Arabella Weir who all did a brilliant job of duping the wine-loving audience.  The room was packed and there was a great buzz as the auction commenced. Top auction lots on the night were the chance to take part in a community building project with ActionAid in Cambodia, which went for £12,000 each.  

Other exciting items included a Marc Chagall original lithograph, which went for £10,000, and a guitar signed by Sting for £3,500.

CALL MY WINE BLUFF has to date raised £787,000 to support children and communities who face poverty and injustice. Donations raised at last night's event will be matched pound for pound by the UK government for ActionAid’s Ready for Anything appeal.