IF YOU WANT TO help people caught up in the south-Asian floods, then you should give to a big-name charity with a proven record of helping in emergencies. Now’s not the time to be experimental. You want to be as sure as possible that your gift will be well spent.

It’s also important to give to a charity that already has people on the ground in the region. The Red Cross (see profile), Merlin (see profile), Care International (see profile) and ActionAid (see profile) are already dealing with the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

Not only will this ensure that your money will be spent more quickly, there’s also a good chance that it will be spent more effectively, too. Charities new to a region inevitably spend time and money getting used to their surroundings – and they can get basic stuff wrong. Local knowledge is invaluable.

You should also give money or time – not stuff. You can be sure that the aid agencies don’t really want your tins of beans, or pairs of wellies. Gifts in kind like this are tricky for them to handle and only slow things down.

One big decision you’ll have to make is whether to support short- or long-term recovery efforts. The Red Cross, for example, specializes in immediate disaster relief, while other charities (like Oxfam (see profile) or Save the Children (see profile)) place more of an emphasis on longer-term help. These charities help build homes and livelihoods; the Red Cross makes sure people don’t starve or get ill.

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