The Reiki Cafe 

Dear friends,

Africa is close to my heart. AIDS is close to my heart. Children are close to my heart.

I want to sponsor a child in Africa who has been left orphaned by AIDS.

Oh, I know that sponsoring one child is hardly likely to make any real difference to the enormous problem of AIDS in Africa and its orphans.
But I would rather make a difference in only one life, than none at all. I feel "...what difference can little old me make?", but that one life is huge. And then of course, there's the ripple effect of one life affecting so many around him/her. So to me it's worth doing, just for that reason alone.

So my question is, I know there are many Christian organizations that do this sort of work - World Vision being one. But I would prefer to go via an organization which is not affiliated to a specific religion.

Does anyone know of any such organizations?
Is anyone doing / has done this?

I welcome any ideas, thoughts or suggestions you may have about this - even if they differ from mine.

Blessings
Natalie

Being a pagan who has been verbally shit on by many christians I understand your reluctance to support a specific religious affiliated organization.

Honestly, what I ask myself everytime is " Am I going to let my negativity and bad experiences keep me from helping someone?" then I always donate and just discard the religious material they gave me.

But yeah it strikes a nerve.

As far as what you asked about non-religious groups I'm not sure. But my point is to discard that aspect and see that you are helping regardless of the face another puts on it.

The fact is some of these christian groups are very well known for the help they bring. So go for it. Get that help to people.

hi there Nats,
a wonderful thought, :-} but please choose carefuly the way/organization you donate to this child....some of these organizations take SO much out of your donation in (paper work etc. fees)
My friend USED to collect for the blind, (door to door,) & out of eg: $1...the blind ended up with 5 cents, he was so disgusted when he found all these things out he stopped doing it......a few bad (greedy) apples can ruin an orchard, some organizations do this sort of thing WOULD YOU BELIEVE! for a living, feeding off of mans misery & illness's....
so please sweetie ,do you home work well, as there are some very good people out there, with there heart (not in their pockets)...my son has sponsored a little girl now for 6 yrs, it's a life long comitment....he does it through World vision......sometimes 'religion' keeps it pure! the intent that is..
all the best luv wendy xxx

Nats,

Dia duit ar maidin,

I would agree wholeheartedly with the advice you have been given. Ask probing questions of the charitie(s) you intend to support and ascertain just what proportion of the money you give ACTUALLY goes to the child and try and get documentary evidence to back up their assertions. Obviously, all organizations have running costs, but the important message is that the bulk of donations are used for the purpose for which they are intended. Research thoroughly should be your watch phrase.

I also agree that you should not discount Christian organizations. Although not one myself, leaning more towards Paganism, I do not have a problem with them - indeed, some of my best friends are Christians, Priests included!!. So, if you find the religious aspects not to your taste, simply put them to one side. The important thing is that your aid gets to it's intended recipient.

Hope that helps a little.

Beannacht leat

Brian

Hi Nats,

Plan international do a lot of sponsorship work in Africa and also other third world countries. They enable written contact between you and the child you sponsor(if that is what you wish). I know Uganda in particular has been greatly affected by the AIDS crisis in Africa. Plan provide regular detailed community reports on the community work that they are doing in 'your child's'village. As far as I know they are not a religious organisation. I'll post the web address in the resources section for you, so that you can check them out for yourself :)

Gentle Blessings
Helen

Dear Nats,
I hate to respond to this because its going to come across very pessimistic & that is not my intention. I sponsored a child for several years, got updates, etc from the child until I read an expose that noted that the child got very little of the contribution & the truth was that very often the money did not even go to the child that was writing to you. Talk about being crestfallen. At the time my contribution was a sacrifice for me & I thought I was helping a child not some large organization with many employees or a specific religous agenda. If a child is in a family where they are the only sponsored one it can cause family problems & the "gift" may actually never get to the child. In order to receive the "gift" the child or family may have to be involved in the religous organization to some degree. Because poverty is so extreme, people may choose to receive "teachings" to receive relief from the extreme conditions they live in...over time however, the donations may not be very effective, according to the report. It is perhaps more effective to work on providing ways for all villagers to obtain a clean source of water or build shelters,medical clinics, schools etc than to give to an organization that spends so much money on these written reports that appear to be a way to generate contributions more than anything else. There is an organization that I have forgotten the name of, but they provide livestock, build animal corrals etc so a family can support themselves or feed themselves. As has already been said, check out the organizations. Keep in mind that any charitable organization will attract those who try to make a fast buck or siphon off donations for themselves, but that is not necessarily the fault of the organization. The bottom line is how much money or support, education, etc actually gets to the people in a significant way.... On the other hand, each time you give you are creating a positive ripple effect that touches someone down the road, at least that is the way I see it.

peace & joy,
holobon

holobon,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- yes, right after Katrina there were several very clever knock-offs of charity websites that showed up and a lot of people donated money on line that simply went to the crooks

- at times like that one is tempted to invoke the 'dark side of the force', so to speak

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

Dear Natalie I belong to Plan International and have been for over a year Ihave recieved photos of my sponsor and family and letters written by Plan workers out there giving me regular updates.I would recommend it it is a joy to read how well my little girl is doing.
Warm Blessings
Becky
Inca

nats,

Hi.

I have not researched whether these are Religiously based groups (many are, of course) but how about:

SOS Children, UK?? Or, AIDs Africa Children??

Cheers,

RC