For the Benefit of Others

I thought I would do something rather wildly out of character for once, and talk about someone besides me-me-me on my blog!

Specifically, I wanted to let people know about a project my friend Beautiphil is working on. Partly because he is my friend, and partly because I promised, and then proceeded to prove myself a bad friend by forgetting to follow through.

(Another bad-friend tendency is a predilection for not calling people back, returning e-mails, or listening to my voice mails in a timely manner. Sorry, littlekappa! And becca! And, er, pretty much anyone else who calls or e-mails me. It'll happen to all of you at least once, if it hasn't already.)

Oh drat, here I am talking about myself again! Gah.

Back to the point, please. Well, recently, I've been thinking about how disheartening it is to hear so much about all the awful things going on in the world. Sometimes it seems like nothing is being done, but that's not true. Lots of people are hard at work to make a difference--they just don't get quite the attention that the actual tragedies do. Even in the horrific stories coming out of the Congo lately, there is a ray of hope, because there are people who have dedicated themselves to helping the women and children who so desperately need them in that broken nation.

So I'm happy today to direct some attention to Beautiphil, who is just one of many friends of mine who are involved in projects that will have an impact far beyond themselves personally. In his particular case, he and his brother have taken it upon themselves to do something about the lack of educational opportunities in Mongolia.

Now, if you don't know where Mongolia is, please don't ask me to tell you. That's what globes are for. Also the Internet. Anyway, I am woefully inadequate when it comes to geography, but I do know they have very cute ponies in Mongolia, because another friend of mine recently went there and took pictures of them. But of course, the country also has that aformentioned lack of educational opportunities for children, which is much more important than the cute ponies. And I'm proud of both Beautiphil and his brother for recognizing that fact, and wanting to do something about it.

"Something" took the form of creating, on their own initiative, an organization called edurelief, and you can read all about their project on the site. Basically, you can sponsor a child (tax-deductibly, if writing checks) for $20. Here's an excerpt from the site:

$20 can change a life. Whether you are an individual or a business every part counts. edurelief wants you to know that any donations made to the kids will go to the kids, we are not out to support ourselves with this project. If $20 is donated then $20 will go towards their education.

If you want to know more or have questions, ask them! (They are probably much better at returning calls (or e-mails!) than I am.)

The reason I talk about this here, now? Because I for one am glad to know that it's not all doom and gloom out there in the world! I'm glad to personally know people who see a problem and don't wait for someone else to fix it, but jump in with both feet and get involved. And I hope each one of us will start looking for ways (whether big or small) to change the world for the better. I know that I need a lot of improvement in this area. I'm ashamed to tell you all the ways that I don't help others. I'm appalled when I think of how I deliberately ignore inner promptings that would lead me to reach out a helping hand to someone in need, because it is not convenient, or because it might cost me some money.

But we can all strive to change. And maybe some of us (like me) need to start small! Still, if we would start by taking even baby steps, who knows what strides we might eventually make in this world, against the evils that beset it?

Oh dear, I still ended up talking about myself. Sigh... well, now you see the troublesome, self-centered raw material God gets to work with. I hope he enjoys a challenge.