July/August 2007

feature article

Reach Out and Help the World

By CHRIS O'BRIEN

As humans, we seem to be coded with compassion, a true desire to help each other. But that benevolence often needs a profound catalyst.We stood up and took action after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. And most of us quickly speak out for the safety of children, the homeless, school shootings. But with psychic bombardments of daily deaths in Baghdad, wars across the globe and regular natural disasters, it’s hard not to get a little numb, and to leave the job of helping to someone else. More often than not, we feel overwhelmed. We want to help, but aren’t sure how. Between work, family, children, caring for aging parents, education and recreation, few of us have time to join the Peace Corps or become full-time activists. So, more often than not, we do nothing.

The good news is, there are ways to help without leaving your family or quitting your job.The first step is to consider what’s really going on in the world and pay attention to the areas that move you.Then, connect with those who already understand the problem and are offering solutions. Ultimately, the goal is to strike a balance where you can give a little— without giving up your life.

The best place to begin is on the web. Here are a few steps to get you started:

Visit the web sites of nonprofit organizations and communities that are taking action to help. It takes as long as browsing Amazon online or checking the weather—and just looking doesn’t mean you have to commit.

Decide which areas and causes move you the most (see the suggestions below), then focus on those; get educated by learning about the problem and the possible solutions.

Start by making regular donations to causes you’re passionate about. Every little bit helps. Skip your latte once a week, and you’ll be able to donate $15 a month, or more. Network with others who want to help. Participate in local meetings, discussions, or public activism, such as mass protests.

As you network, you’ll meet your peers; work with them on grassroots efforts. Start a public awareness campaign, a petition or letter-writing campaign.

Help fundraise. A lemonade stand brings in a few dollars and gets kids and community members involved in a good cause. A giving group—a group of friends who gather regularly to give or help—is a great way to make friends and raise money. Or go big and throw a dinner, gala, art auction or other event to solicit philanthropic dollars.

Volunteer your time locally to support your community. Shelters, churches, safe houses and the like always need extra hands and smiles.

Make gift-in-kind donations of goods or services to charities that support the causes you believe in. Carpentry, legal services, marketing, printing, driving and more are always in need—and they’re tax-deductible. Or simply clean out your basement or garage and donate your stuff to the Salvation Army or area homeless shelters.

Feel good about what you’re doing. Even a few minutes here and there helps. Support is not an all-or-nothing proposition. And when you’re feeling good about helping, you’ll inspire others to help, too.

Ready to reach out? Here’s a quick look at some of the struggles we’re facing today—across the globe and within Colorado—and some ways to find out how you can help.

1. Disaster in Africa
The level of carnage on this continent is frightening. Still reeling from a famine in Niger that killed millions, today’s Africa suffers from war and genocide in Darfur, and horribly violent conflict over resources such as diamonds in Sierra Leone and oil in Kenya. Millions have died and are dying, even more are displaced and homeless. Food, shelter, healthcare and fundamental human decency have become desperate luxuries for many.

Want to help? Here are a few places to start:

• Africare works in partnership with African communities to achieve healthy and productive societies and believes that only through strong communities can Africa feed itself, appropriately exploit its natural resources, educate, care and protect its children, promote the economic well being of African people and live in peace. www.africare.org/index.html

• HELP Africa (Humanitarian Effort to Lessen Poverty in Africa) provides technical assistance and support to local non-governmental organizations, community based groups, women’s groups, as well as international organizations, government agencies, and individuals that are directly involved in carrying out community- based development and relief projects. www.helpafrica.net

• Support Africa Action focuses on urgent African priorities including the genocide in Darfur and the continent’s debt burden. www.africaaction. org/support/index.php

•Voices for Dafur, a Boulder-based organization, seeks to spread awareness of the crisis and inspire action. www.boulderfordarfur.com

• The Sierra Leone Fund was founded in 2005 to aid the impoverished people of Sierra Leone, who were negatively affected by a 10-year civil war, through targeted humanitarian and relief projects. www.sierraleonefund.org/indexmain.htm

2. Global victims of war

Sadly, when the political dust settles and the last M-16 has been re-racked, there are always scores of people who, if they’re lucky enough to have lived through a war, are now facing poverty, homelessness, malnutrition and disease—with no access to health care. Especially in developing countries such as Afghanistan and other areas of the Middle East, Africa, Central America and parts of Asia, when the powers that be leave the battlefield, there’s often nothing left; no help; no support. It’s the nonprofits and the international aid organizations who take on the task of helping the helpless. Here’s how some organizations are helping:

• Direct Relief International provides medical material aid including medicines, medical supplies and equipment to strengthen in-country health efforts around the world to improve the quality of life for the most impoverished people. In 2006, Direct Relief provided over $200 million in direct aid through medical material assistance and grants serving 23.8 million people in 56 countries worldwide. www.directrelief.org

•War Child International is a network of independent organizations, working across the world to help children affected by war, both victims and children soldiers. www.warchild.org

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence, and to provide them with assistance. It directs and coordinates international relief activities including visiting prisoners, organizing relief operations, re-uniting separated families and similar humanitarian activities; they’re active during armed conflicts and in situations of internal violence where the Geneva Conventions do not apply. ICRC also endeavors to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. www.icrc.org

• The Afghan Network’s mission is to educate Afghans and non-Afghans about Afghanistan and provide services including Afghan News Channel, Bookshop, Music Channel, Culture Gateway, and support services. For a comprehensive list of nonprofits supporting people in devastatedAfghanistan, visit www.afghan-netw

3. Nuclear Weapons
Hot topic. Perhaps not as keenly monitored by the public or media as in years past (like the celebrated ‘60s). But the fact is, nuclear weapons still exist and, if used, do pose a threat to our survival. While it’s impossible to explore this topic without wandering into a political diatribe, let’s just say it would be a bad day if bombs started going off.

If you feel strongly about reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons, visit the site is hosted by Proposition One, a grassroots movement for disarmament of nuclear weapons and the conversion of nuclear and other arms industries to provide for human and environmental needs, and includes an A-to-Z list of every organization concerned with nuclear weapons. www.prop1.org/prop1/azantink.htm.

4. The AIDs Epidemic
According to the 2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic by UNADIS (the joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS that brings together the efforts and resources of ten UN system organizations to the global AIDS response), Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world. An estimated 24.5 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2005, 2 million have died from AIDS in the past year, and more than 12 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. Places to start:

• Save Africa From Aids Program focuses on getting help to people with AIDS and counteracting the AIDS epidemic worldwide. www.afaids.org

• The Body is a complete HIV/AIDS resource site with forums, how to help, state-by-state guide to resources, scientific and medical information. The Body aims to use the web to lower barriers between patients and clinicians, demystify HIV/AIDS and its treatment, improve patients’ quality of life and foster community through human connection. bbs.thebody.com/index/hotlines/national.html

5. Child abuse
It’s worse than you think. Just in case you believe child abuse isn’t happening in your community, check out these statistics:

More than 900,000 children are victims of abuse and neglect every year.

1,500 children die every year from child abuse and neglect; more than four deaths every day.

Children aged 0 to 3 are the most likely to experience abuse, and 79 percent of the children killed by child abuse and neglect are younger than 4 years old.

• Childhelp: is a nonprofit organization focusing on the prevention and treatment of child abuse by meeting the physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of abused and neglected children. Get involved at www.childhelp.org

• Tennyson Center for Children at Colorado Christian Home is the Rocky Mountain region’s largest treatment center and K-8 school for abused and neglected children, ages 5-14. www.childabuse.org

• The Child Abuse Prevention Network is an Internet hub for professionals in the field of child abuse and neglect providing tools to support the identification, investigation, treatment, adjudication, and prevention of child abuse and neglect. www.child-abuse.com.

• Colorado Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program trains volunteers to speak up for abused, neglected or abandoned children in the court. CASA is based on the belief that every child has the right to a safe, permanent home. By thoroughly exploring each child’s background, dedicated and intensively trained CASA volunteers are able to assess each child’s situation and make objective recommendations to the court. www.coloradocasa.org.

6. Homelessness at Home

Here in the United States, about 3.5 million people are homeless, 1.35 million of them children, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

In 2003, children under the age of 18 accounted for 39 percent of the homeless population, almost half of whom were under the age of five. Over the past decade, families with children have been the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, making up a third of the homeless in 2005.

The two best places to reach out and help the homeless are the National Coalition for the Homeless and your local homeless shelters.

• National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness. The coalition also includes activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to ending homelessness. www.nationalhomeless.org

• Boulder Shelter for the Homeless carries the mission to provide safe shelter, food and support services, and to create an avenue to self-sufficiency for homeless adults in the greater Boulder community. www.bouldershelter.org

• Denver’s Road Home is a strategic 10-year plan to end homelessness in the greater Denver area, with initiatives for permanent and transitional housing, improved shelter systems, access to support services, public safety and outreach programs, education, training and employment. www.denversroadhome.org

• The Denver Rescue Mission’s chief goal is to meet people at their physical and spiritual points of need providing food, shelter, and clothing, along with practical programs of education, Christian teaching, and work discipline with the aim of returning the poor, needy, and homeless to society as self-sufficient, productive citizens. www.denverrescuemission.org/index.html

7. World hunger
About 25,000 people worldwide die every day of hunger or hunger related causes. And according to The United Nations World Food Program, one in seven people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life, making hunger and malnutrition the number one health risk worldwide. Close to a billion people suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Every four seconds, a child dies from hunger or malnutrition.

Concerted efforts are being made by organizations, and it’s easy to make donations, send a letter to the president and take other actions to help fight hunger. Places to start:

• The ONE Campaign is an effort by Americans to rally Americans – one by one – to fight the emergency of extreme poverty. The ONE Campaign derives its name from the belief that allocating an additional one percent of the U.S. budget toward providing basic needs like health, education, clean water and food would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the world’s poorest countries. ONE also calls for debt cancellation, trade reform and anti–corruption measures in a comprehensive package to help Africa and the poorest nations beat AIDS and extreme poverty. www.ONE.org

• The World Food Programme is a collective resource of current news, relief actions, aid opportunities, information and publications: www.wfp.org/english

• Oxfam America is committed to creating lasting solutions to global poverty, hunger and social injustice: www.oxfamamerica.org

• The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works for children’s rights, survival, development and protection, as guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. www.UNICEF.org

• Find out more about world hunger and browse a list of organizations that help and could use your support at www.poverty.com/more.html. You can also print and sign a letter to the president at this site, asking him to commit a percent of the country’s income as financial aid through the UN toward ending hunger and extreme poverty: www.poverty.com/printletter.html

As individuals, we’re not always equipped to fight injustice and misfortune— but we are in a position to help the victims and support human dignity, recovery and well-being. While the world may look like a tough place at times, it’s never been easier to reach out and help. A click or two and you can start to make a difference. From there, you may find yourself profoundly touching the lives of others and, in turn, experiencing a new feeling of purpose, self and community.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.” Dr. Martin Luther King.