Nope.Lifeforent wrote:is there anyone who has the same passion?
Lifeforent wrote:Hi, JR8, I bet you've already been to Bintan, may be more than once. Just wanna check have u sent the $100 cheque out yet?
Still, thanks guys. I didn't give much hope on this but just in case.
Life surprises us. so does people
I also did a few times, donations for animal welfare, natural disasters in some countries, also vonlunteering by selling Xmas cards for UNICEF at Christmas market.JR8 wrote:Lifeforent wrote:Hi, JR8, I bet you've already been to Bintan, may be more than once. Just wanna check have u sent the $100 cheque out yet?
Still, thanks guys. I didn't give much hope on this but just in case.
Life surprises us. so does people
Er, actually I haven't. Though I have been to Africa about 15 times and done academic voluntary work in other third world countries so I have witnessed first hand how the young 'do-gooders', being under no serious contractual obligation appear to treat it as a holiday with a few errands thrown in, and simply get under people's feet. In any serious operation this is nothing short of a burden and hindrance.
And so, we now see a growth industry in 'not-for-profit' organisations that offer opportunities for the young to come and volunteer and throw a few thousand $'s at some fictional issue. The provider grows fat (the 'not-for-profit' derives from them paying themselves every cent the company makes, and so therefore there is no profit), and the customer gets their ego stroked and leaves with that warm glow of having spent daddies money on something useful.
I tend to do most of my charitable giving via sponsorship of friends who are up to various challenges or endeavours. But my last larger donation ($1,000) was for a village well to be built outside Siem Reap in Cambodia.
http://www.sustainablecambodia.org/default.asp
sundaymorningstaple wrote:I don't regret any of it, and the look of their faces, after I'd walked their case through the US Immigration officer (I shared his office in International Plaza) and got their approval to be resettled in the US was worth more than money could buy.
Maybe I'll put the link back up if anybody's really interested.
sms
sundaymorningstaple wrote:You want to do some good work? Contact the UNHCR and see if they can use your help somewhere in the world.
I worked alongside UNHCR for for 3.5 years from 1988~1991 throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the 'peens resettling VN'mese refugees ("boat people"). In fact, during that time I also wrote a rather large manual for usage by all caseworkers from the various countries and UNHCR as well to assist them in determining the truth of what they were being told by the refugees and how to inspect their documentation and stories with what really happened and where and what was fraudulent and forged. For me it was a sort of penance for my tour of duty from '66-'68. A couple of years ago I posted a link on here for some of the photo's I took of the P. Galang Camp in the Riau Islands as they actually looked. Not what the Indonesians have remodeled the camp to look like today. Huge difference, believe me.
Anyway, spending 6 months to a year or so doing charitable work is good for the soul and I would recommend it to everybody. You want to feel good? Donate you time. That comes from yourself, from deep inside. Money? That came from somebody else. It always stuck in my craw, the local process of just donating money. Their pragmatic viewpoint is with money the charity can buy the help needed, and they don't have to quit making more money in the process. So it's just a placebo for them to feel good and to give them bragging rights.
It's better to donate you time, IF YOU REALLY CARE. It's the only way you can ensure that your efforts go directly to those who need it. Otherwise, 90% of all donations (if not, as noted, all of it) usually go for administrative costs.
I don't regret any of it, and the look of their faces, after I'd walked their case through the US Immigration officer (I shared his office in International Plaza) and got their approval to be resettled in the US was worth more than money could buy.
Maybe I'll put the link back up if anybody's really interested.
sms
Amazing!sundaymorningstaple wrote:The Indo's made it look real nice now, trying to impress the visitors, but it's a far cry from what the reality was.
http://www.keynote-engineers.net/PGalang/PGalang.html
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