I realize that people often take what I say about "charity" work overseas with a grain of salt because they think I'm jaded or because they want to hang on to the innocent belief that all do-gooders really do good. Believe it or not, I, too consider myself an optimist and want to believe the best of others. Burying our heads in the sand and trusting organizations because it makes us feel good about ourselves is not the answer, though. And unfortunately, too much done in the name of "good" is actually done for the purposes of patting one's self on the back and ignores the actual consequences of the charitable action.
Let me be the first to say: there is good work being done. But before you give-- your money OR your time-- do your research. Sometimes not even seeing is believing.
Seriously, if you're thinking of donating overseas this holiday season, I can point you toward a couple legit organizations. Or, donate closer to home to be sure your intentions are realized.
1 comments:
I have a hard time donating to overseas "help" projects. Not because I don't believe in them, but because I think there's plenty of "help" projects that need workers in our own communities. If we spent just a portion of the funds and time we do in other countries in our own communities, we might see a difference.
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