In the spirit of the season...

A recent anonymous reader of this blog appeared, at least by the comment left in his/her tracts, to be violently upset with the fact that I would suggest that for this "season of giving" we could consider donating to charities instead of buying ourselves a $22,000 genetically engineered cat.

I don't think I could possibly adequately address the indignity felt by this reader. I'm really not even sure where to start. However, if any of you, like me, are feeling a bit overwhelmed by this season of consumerism, or, if you have suddenly realized you really don't need anything right now, here's a few remarkable organizations that could really benefit from your generosity.

AFESIP
This is an amazing Southeast Asian organization set up by a woman, Somaly Mam, who had been sold into the sex trade when she was a child. She escaped and later started this organization, which literally rescues little girls from brothels and provides them with shelter, food, job training, and counseling. This is a small organization where your money actually will have a big effect. From their website:

AFESIP exists to combat trafficking in women and children for sex slavery; to care for and rehabilitate those rescued from sex slavery; to provide occupational skills and to reintegrate those rescued into the community in a sustainable and innovative manner. AFESIP also seeks to combat the causes and effects of trafficking and sex slavery through outreach work in AIDS prevention; through advocacy and campaigning; through representation and participation in women’s issues at national, regional and international forums.

Kiva
This is a relatively new and unique organization that has taken up the successful and innovative practice of microfinance. Micro-finance, or micro-loans, were first developed by banker and economist Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his efforts. The idea is to give small loans to entrepreneurial people living in third world countries to help them pull themselves out of poverty. Kiva lets you take part in this by loaning your money to people with small business plans that need financial support to get started. Sometimes, it is as simple as funding a person's initial purchase of inventory, so that they can sell their products and make a small profit. Several people loan money to one individual so the financial risk is spread out. If successful, you get your money back, if not, you've donated towards good intention. Sample projects you can fund:
- Vivi Susanti (Indonesia), a 30 year old mother with one child, who sells sandals on credit. She can earn up to $5 per day. Her husband, Encep, works in a shoe factory in Tangerang. He earns $15 in salary per week. She requests IDR 500,000 ($75 USD) so she can buy more sandals to sell. She is willing to repay this loan within a period of 12 months.
- Gulboy Akramov (Tajikistan) is a 52 year old farmer who would like to borrow $1000 to purchase petrol and fertilizer for his fields. He plans to pay back his loans in a year, after selling his crops.
- Adesuwa Adagbony (Nigeria) is a 28 year old woman who need to borrow $875 to purchase more products to sell at her beauty salon. She plans to repay her loan in 8 months, with monthly payments.


Jane Goodall Institute
So we all know that chimps, gorillas, and other primates are being threatened by extinction. No need to say more here. If you want a cute gift, you can even gift someone "guardianship" of a chimp.

Overall, there are thousands of amazing organizations doing remarkable things. If you want to stay more local or stick with well-known organizations, Forbes does an excellent review of charities which will use your money efficiently.

Happy giving.