Living Smart and helping those in need

What I learned this week:
Many Americans are generous and compassionate, which is something I have always known. As a nation we have raised more than 400 million dollars for Haiti. It is amazing what a ten dollar
donation can do. Technology is helping us make smaller donations. This time it is through text messaging.

What I am grateful for: I love my work and I know it makes a difference.

I am asking a question many who gave to Haiti are asking. What happens next. Will the money be used properly or will it be stolen by corrupt government officials or businesses? We can just hope that the NGO's and the Media will be on top of this, following the money. Haiti will need to be rebuilt. This is a new opportunity for a very poor nation and this is why I want to spend some time explaining why I give to microfinance organizations. I like to donate to those in need but I want to make sure we can lift them out of poverty with economic programs that work. This will eventually apply to Haiti too. Poverty is often created by economic, social and political structures that don't allow people to reach their highest potential. Finding a microlending organization you can trust requires research. I have my favorite but there are many out there worth investigating.

I just finished reading the book, "the Boy who Harnessed the Wind by 14 year old William Kamkwamba from Malawi, one of the poorest nations in the world. Famine stricken and unable to go to school because his family coulnd't afford it, William spends hours in the local library reading physics and engineering books and eventually builds a windmill (creating electric wind) that will change the life of his village, family, and eventually his country. Today, William is attending a school in South Africa on scholarship. He is a respected inventor and is building schools and clinics in his country. There are thousands if not millions of Williams in the world, (including America which by the way has 13 to 17 percent of its population living below the poverty line). If we can figure out how to help them effectively, then we can really change the structures that keep people poor.
This Sunday Living with Ethics on Living Smart at 10pm.