I'm a devotee of Mata Amritanandamayi Math (aka "Amma"), she donated millions of dollars to victims of the tsunami last year and helped to build thousands of homes and provide relief. Naturally, when Katrina struck I thought "Wow, I wonder if Amma will get involved." When I brought up the question in an internet forum, other devotees stated flatly that they were afraid that any donation would get tied up in red tape or lost to corruption.

Amma's organization donated $1 million, probably the largest from any foreign, non-government entity.

I wonder where the money went.

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"The United States' lack of experience as a recipient of huge amounts of aid from others."
"Without a plan for dealing with such a large-scale influx, legal restrictions kicked in that required almost half the cash to be held in accounts that paid no interest, resulting in a loss of almost $1 million and diminished buying power for eventual hurricane relief."

This is the biggest, bitter laugh of all. Like the US goverment is not used to getting big bills and didn't know what to do with them.

RRRRRrrrrrrggh!!