If you only read one thing I write this year, read this.
I've been meaning to write this entry for months, and haven't really known how to go about it. Just jump in, I suppose.
I’ve changed a lot over the last couple of years - nothing external, and my life looks like it always has - but I feel in some ways like a completely different person. I care about things I never used to care about, I think deeply about things that ten years ago would have bored me to tears, and I see the world in a much more realistic way. It seems like I am always feeling hopeless, agonised or enraged because I see the horrors that people around the world have to live with and I can’t do anything to change it. But just recently, I’ve realised that while I can’t change the world in a big way, it is my responsibility as an affluent (by world standards) Western citizen to do what I can.
I always thought that mere monetary donations were a cop-out - the real sacrifice is when you go and get your hands dirty. But then I heard a story a while ago about a fantastically successful businessman who did just that, going from a job that earned him millions a year to serve in an overseas orphanage. And while I admired his courage, I questioned his decision. Surely a more effective use of his gifts would be to go on earning millions a year and channel that money into the orphanage?
As I’ve thought about it over the last couple of years, I’ve realised that charitable giving is a deeply personal thing. It all depends on what touches your heart as to what you give to. One person I know gives monthly to the RSPCA, others I know support Oxfam, others sponsor children, others give to AIDS organisations or Women’s Refuge. For me, I wanted my money to go to the people on the planet who are enduring the greatest ongoing suffering. I think, without doubt, I’ve found that group.
Although you don’t hear a lot about it, there are literally millions of children worldwide, but notably in Thailand and Cambodia, who endure sexual torture in brothels on a daily basis. And when I say children, I’m talking about five- and six-year-olds, and sometimes younger. The rise of violent pornography in Asia has meant that children in the sex trade are no longer just being raped by adult men (as if that weren’t enough), they are undergoing degradation and mutilation of the vilest, most evil kind. I won’t write about it here, but I’ve done some reading and the horrors of it are beyond description. In some cases what has been done to them is so disgusting that they break - they stop talking, moving, eating, the shock just destroys their minds. In my opinion the use of children for sex is the most evil thing that exists on this earth, without exception.
So for ages I felt like I wanted to do something but all I could think of was to sponsor a girl from Thailand. So we did that, but I still desperately wanted to give something towards helping children out of sexual slavery. Then I found a random flier from TearFund about a programme they support called Thai Justice. It’s an organisation that investigates child sex abuse and prostitution, rescues children, gives them safe accommodation and rehabilitation, and finds and prosecutes their abusers. I did some research and they’re part of a group called International Justice Mission (IJM) which does this and other work worldwide. They’re a reputable mission organisation and it was such a relief to find something I could do. We give a bit to them monthly, and we’ve decided that when we sell our house, a percentage of the capital gain will go to IJM. Nothing I do will ever be enough to stop what's happening, but I can at least do this.
We just don’t often think, in the West, about what our money means. Take coffee for instance. The cost of one Starbucks Venti mocha with whipped cream is enough to prevent blindness in one person in Africa through Foundation for the Blind. That’s an astounding thing. What a privilege to be affluent enough to actually afford that.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is this: think about your income and the people you’d like to help the most. You might think it's impossible to make a difference, but it's not. However little you have, it is enough. A $5 automatic payment to a charitable organisation may feel so small that it’s almost negligible, but it’s not. Every dollar helps. And while you shouldn’t go overboard, and should absolutely spend money on the things that make life great (vintage handbags, The Office DVDs, movie tickets…), I’d urge you to make room for charitable giving if you don’t do it already. It is the very least we can do, and even the least of us can do it.
I’ve changed a lot over the last couple of years - nothing external, and my life looks like it always has - but I feel in some ways like a completely different person. I care about things I never used to care about, I think deeply about things that ten years ago would have bored me to tears, and I see the world in a much more realistic way. It seems like I am always feeling hopeless, agonised or enraged because I see the horrors that people around the world have to live with and I can’t do anything to change it. But just recently, I’ve realised that while I can’t change the world in a big way, it is my responsibility as an affluent (by world standards) Western citizen to do what I can.
I always thought that mere monetary donations were a cop-out - the real sacrifice is when you go and get your hands dirty. But then I heard a story a while ago about a fantastically successful businessman who did just that, going from a job that earned him millions a year to serve in an overseas orphanage. And while I admired his courage, I questioned his decision. Surely a more effective use of his gifts would be to go on earning millions a year and channel that money into the orphanage?
As I’ve thought about it over the last couple of years, I’ve realised that charitable giving is a deeply personal thing. It all depends on what touches your heart as to what you give to. One person I know gives monthly to the RSPCA, others I know support Oxfam, others sponsor children, others give to AIDS organisations or Women’s Refuge. For me, I wanted my money to go to the people on the planet who are enduring the greatest ongoing suffering. I think, without doubt, I’ve found that group.
Although you don’t hear a lot about it, there are literally millions of children worldwide, but notably in Thailand and Cambodia, who endure sexual torture in brothels on a daily basis. And when I say children, I’m talking about five- and six-year-olds, and sometimes younger. The rise of violent pornography in Asia has meant that children in the sex trade are no longer just being raped by adult men (as if that weren’t enough), they are undergoing degradation and mutilation of the vilest, most evil kind. I won’t write about it here, but I’ve done some reading and the horrors of it are beyond description. In some cases what has been done to them is so disgusting that they break - they stop talking, moving, eating, the shock just destroys their minds. In my opinion the use of children for sex is the most evil thing that exists on this earth, without exception.
So for ages I felt like I wanted to do something but all I could think of was to sponsor a girl from Thailand. So we did that, but I still desperately wanted to give something towards helping children out of sexual slavery. Then I found a random flier from TearFund about a programme they support called Thai Justice. It’s an organisation that investigates child sex abuse and prostitution, rescues children, gives them safe accommodation and rehabilitation, and finds and prosecutes their abusers. I did some research and they’re part of a group called International Justice Mission (IJM) which does this and other work worldwide. They’re a reputable mission organisation and it was such a relief to find something I could do. We give a bit to them monthly, and we’ve decided that when we sell our house, a percentage of the capital gain will go to IJM. Nothing I do will ever be enough to stop what's happening, but I can at least do this.
We just don’t often think, in the West, about what our money means. Take coffee for instance. The cost of one Starbucks Venti mocha with whipped cream is enough to prevent blindness in one person in Africa through Foundation for the Blind. That’s an astounding thing. What a privilege to be affluent enough to actually afford that.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is this: think about your income and the people you’d like to help the most. You might think it's impossible to make a difference, but it's not. However little you have, it is enough. A $5 automatic payment to a charitable organisation may feel so small that it’s almost negligible, but it’s not. Every dollar helps. And while you shouldn’t go overboard, and should absolutely spend money on the things that make life great (vintage handbags, The Office DVDs, movie tickets…), I’d urge you to make room for charitable giving if you don’t do it already. It is the very least we can do, and even the least of us can do it.