ImanusT: TJSL Student Helps the Forgotten Victims
It may take you a moment to realize that ImanusT is actually the word tsunami spelled backwards.
First year Thomas Jefferson law student Ann Ngo carefully chose the reverse orthography as the name of the non-profit organization she founded because the mission of ImanusT is to try to reverse the lingering after-effects of tragedies such as tsunamis, earthquakes and floods long after they fade from the headlines and the world starts to forget the victims.
“It’s crisis reversal,” Ngo said. “We want to help people who have been forgotten by the media – people still in need of help a year or two later.”
The inspiration to create ImanusT came in the aftermath of a letter that Ngo wrote to all of her friends and family to raise money for the victims of the 2005 tsunami in Asia. The letter resulted in $1,100 in donations which she gave to UNICEF. More importantly, Ngo realized she could use her talents to start her own organization.
ImanusT works through other crisis relief organizations which have a direct impact on the victims of tragedies to “help them get back on their feet.” The goal is to make sure 100% of the money they raise goes to those people who need the help in re-building their lives. Since ImanusT is an all-volunteer organization, overhead costs are minimal.
Ngo graduated from USC with a Master’s Degree in strategic public relations, and she’s using those skills to implement media outreach tactics that position crisis victims back into the media limelight. “ImanusT reminds and convinces the media to write stories about crisis victims encouraging people to help,” she said.
For Ngo, the first year of law school and running a small organization such as ImanusT is a balancing act – but one she says that is worth the effort.
“This is how I relax,” Ngo said. “It’s my hobby. It’s my release.”
She hopes to use her law degree to help build ImanusT into a national, even international organization.
“I have so much passion for this,” Ngo said. “It’s very fulfilling. And I’m so lucky to have a passion that helps people.”
To visit the ImanusT website go to:
www.crisisreversal.com/howtohelp.php
Information on ImanusT Fundraising event