pimpin'!
apiphile is organizing an anthology of stories to benefit doctors without borders/médecins sans frontières. she's looking for twelve tales of recovery, stories between 1200-12k words on the theme of "healing" - physical, psychological, whatever. they're due the first week of october. go here for details.
(msf is probably as independent an organization as you'll find giving humanitarian/health assistance to people in need. they help folks who've been flattened by natural or man-made disasters (see: haiti) and by wars or other conflicts (see: uzbekistan, kyrgyzstan, afghanistan, lots of parts of africa), and because they're not funded by government agencies or political groups or faith-based charities, they can go where they're needed and do their thing without outside pressure. but that also means they need money.)
(msf is probably as independent an organization as you'll find giving humanitarian/health assistance to people in need. they help folks who've been flattened by natural or man-made disasters (see: haiti) and by wars or other conflicts (see: uzbekistan, kyrgyzstan, afghanistan, lots of parts of africa), and because they're not funded by government agencies or political groups or faith-based charities, they can go where they're needed and do their thing without outside pressure. but that also means they need money.)