And Now for Something Good

Today I received a statement in the mail from Nothing But Nets. Someone recently donated $250 in my name.

The letter was unclear about whether it was a cumulative amount from multiple donations during my birthday charity drive event or a single gift--but either way, it was incredibly generous!

Whoever you are, thank you. I'm humbled, and so very pleased.

A Birthday Charity Event

Yep. Today is the big 3-8. Mr.W and I are celebrating with friends and family tonight... very low-key, which seems just right this year. And I am reminded of how so very, very blessed I am with good health, a great family, a supportive network of friends here in my hometown, online, and spread around the globe (many on the African continent). It is this feeling of abundance that brings with it a certain feeling of responsibility toward the less fortunate.

Last year I did a small charity drive here at Mrs.W's Kitchen for my birthday; the tradition continues this year.



Nothing But Nets is a favorite of mine. Not only do they provide free bed nets to prevent malaria, they also partner with the Measles Initiative. The Measles initiative is a collaboration among the American Red Cross, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the UN Foundation, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF. Since it's inception in 2001, there has been an increase in focus on providing a package of child health interventions, including Vitamin A, de-worming medicines, the oral polio vaccine and insecticide-treated bed nets.

The value of bed nets (only $10 US each) to prevent malaria deaths cannot be matched--net distribution draws parents with their children to vaccination campaigns. It's a whole-health approach to saving the world, one child at a time.

Sending Nets = Saving Lives

If you're interested in donating to this very worthy charity--as a birthday gift to me or simply a head-start on your 2009 tax-deductible charitable contributions--click here. To read more about Nothing But Nets, visit their website here. More information on the Measles Initiative can be reviewed here. If you do decide to make a donation, please leave me a comment below or send me an email to let me know so I can properly thank you.

BloggerAid Cookbook Charity Event

Have you heard?

BloggerAid is working on a cookbook! This collection of recipes from foodbloggers will go on sale in November--and 100% of sales profit will fun the UN's World Food Program.

How great is that?

It makes sense that foodies, our lives so connected with food, participate in feeding the many, many hungry people in the world.

You can be part of it, too. All it takes is a recipe submission by February 12, 2009, a blog post and an agreement to kitchen test one recipe. There's still time to participate--visit BloggerAid's cookbook submission page for details.

There are nearly one billion people in the world who are hungry. Together, we can make a difference.

Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty

Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger: ¾ of these deaths are children under 5.

1.3 billion people on our planet live on less than a dollar a day.

31 million Americans must rely on emergency food sources or go hungry and 40% are children.

The number of people living in extreme poverty has increased by ½ a million since 1995.

figures from JustGive.org

I had the great honor of travelling to Ethiopia during my years working for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in Atlanta. Not only was it a great experience professionally, but it opened my eyes to true suffering.

Growing up in the United States I never saw poverty. Even my travels as a military spouse failed to prepare me adequately.

When I was in Addis Ababa I was housed in a five-star luxury hotel surrounded by a large stone wall and many security personnel to keep out the locals. My room was high up, with a balcony overlooking the hot spring-fed pool and, just beyond the wall, shantytown. A true-to-God slum--the very picture of poverty and want in stark contrast to the wealthy resort-dwellers next door.

(If you'd like to see a gorgeous slideshow of Ethiopia including the shanty town outside the Hilton Addis Ababa, go here.)

Every time I left my hotel compound without an escort I was mobbed by begging children who were foiled in their pickpocketing attempts by finding only tissues in my clothes.

I rode in a taxi to meet friends at a local restaurant and, along the way, a man without legs (blown off by a landmine), mobilized aboard a skateboard, reached up into my open window to beg for food.

I consider these heartbreaking memories among my favorite thoughts of Ethiopia, because my eyes were opened to true lack and real suffering. As I returned to America, I started to pay attention.

I saw beggars under the interstate in downtown Atlanta.

I noticed people walking near the rescue mission in my hometown, cautiously approaching the soup kitchen, trying to be as invisible as possible.

I paid attention to my neighbors, who may have a home but who skip meals because they're unable to buy enough food.

Poverty is a worldwide tragedy, and one that we can do something about. There are literally thousands of charities that cater to serving poverty-stricken people of the world. We all have a responsibility to donate, even when we have our own bills.

Do you know that the average monthly income for a middle-class working person in Ethiopia is $20 US? Even the poorest Americans are wealthy compared to people in developing countries--but that doesn't mean we shouldn't help locally. Let your heart be your guide.

Even if you don't have much spare money, it's possible to help. Food from your garden can be donated to a local rescue mission kitchen. One extra canned good with your weekly grocery trip can add up to a nice boxful of food just in time for the holidays. Invite a less-fortunate friend or family member to your home for tea and a meal. You could volunteer an afternoon at a shelter, or even donate gently used magazines, clothes and toys. Check the website for your local rescue mission--some areas have different programs through various grocery stores for matching contributions. (For my readers local to the Central New York area, see the Utica Rescue Mission and Syracuse Area Mission websites.)

It's easy to help. You just have to make a commitment to do it.

In honor of today's Blog Action Day, I will donate the income from my ads for today (Wednesday, October 15th) and tomorrow (Thursday, October 16th) to my local rescue mission's Thanksgiving meal program.

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Learn about making delicious, delicious Ethiopian food from my "Adventures in African Cooking" series!

Looking for ways you can help? Here is a list of charities that combat poverty worldwide, and another list of organizations that help people in the United States. More great information can be found here, here and here.

It's My Birthday

Edited Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who donated! I'm so blessed!


Today is my birthday, and, as a gift to me, please consider making a donation to Shaohannah's Hope, Inc.

Domestic and international adoption costs can range from $10,000 to over $35,000 USD. Let's face it--most people just don't have the financial resources to make adoption possible. Now, families can turn to Shaohannah's Hope for financial grants and other assistance!

Facilitating adoptions for families is their mission; by helping these families, they are creating life opportunities for orphans worldwide. That's what I call a worthy cause.

Even $1, $5 or $10 is a generous gift to a loving family. If 100 people donate only $10... well, you can do the math! Every little bit helps. Instead of waiting for December, why not start your charitable donations now for the 2008 U.S. tax season?

If you do decide to give, please do let me know. It sure would make my day.

Donate Here to Shaohannah's Hope

Off Topic Rant: Orphans in the International Community

I just read an article online about Angelina Jolie calling for more funding to support orphans worldwide. In a nutshell, Jolie and Pitt have created an organization called Global Action for Children, that raises money for orphans in the developing world.

It sounds great on the surface. But perhaps celebrities might consider supporting systems already in place, instead of always creating new funds, new foundations; better yet, creating more organizations such as Stephen Curtis Chapman's Shaohannah's Hope, which provides grants for people in the process of adoption and in financial need.

Secular groups could call for lesser waiting periods for international adoptions. Celebrities such as Jolie & Pitt can enter countries like Ethiopia and leave with their child almost immediately--while everyone else has to wait a year or more.

International adoption is such a difficult process--which often includes bringing extra cash along (in American dollars) to bribe officials. In addition to that, you have to pay for the application process, pay for the medical clearances, pay for the fees to adoption agencies, pay for your tickets to the country where the children are located... it's so extremely expensive. A friend of mine adopted two Ethiopian children and paid $8k just to the adoption agency, not to mention over a year in the process before ever getting photos to select their children. Although costs related to adoptions are tax-deductible, you still have to front all that money--and let's face it. The average American just doesn't have that kind of money available.

I am personally aware that there is much corruption involved anywhere money is coming into the African continent and most notably in Sudan. Even the World Health Organization turns a 'blind eye' to some siphoning of funding for vaccination programs to 'grease the wheels' in other areas. Finances meant for hiring workers for health initiatives all over Africa turn up missing on a regular basis. This is a fact of working in the developing world. Children are the victims. So I can say with 98% certainty that if these recently-established Africa-aid charity programs, such as Jolie & Pitt's GAC, are not already being drained by corrupt groups, they will be. Another reason to go through charities already in place.

I feel it must be said--celebrities creating all of these foundations and charities may mean well in their hearts, but I would ask them to think about issues where everyday people can help. Lots of American families would be willing to open their homes and families to internationally adopted children if the process were not so expensive and difficult.

At the very least, Pitts and Jolies of the world, make sure the administrative costs of your new charities and foundations are under 10%, so your money does the most good to your target group. Or consider donating your money via established agencies such as UNICEF, who are already in place to reach the unreachable and help the poorest of the poor.

Just my two cents. Rant over.


Mrs. W