(Reposted from my blog.)

Wahooo!

Remember how I said I wanted to grow up to be a professional philanthropist? Yay! Adulthood beginning now!

I was a bit concerned about finding charities that are efficient and in line with all of the things that tug at my heart strings. I regularly send small amounts to the ASPCA, Sea Shepherds, Mercy Corps, and the ACLU and am happy to do so. But one thing that is REALLY important to me is education. When someone knows their own mind and the power they have at their disposal, nothing is impossible!

TheDave23 recently told me about the Children of Ethiopia Education Fund. Damn! It's just... so awesome. They send Ethiopian girls to school, feed them, provide medical care, and help build more schools in the area. At first I was a little miffed that it was just girls, as I am all about equality. The thing is, it's addressing the current inequality in the area, as girls are rarely educated and generally expected to stay home, cook, clean, and do all that happy horsesh**. Well, here's some stuff from www.coeef.org:


Following their first visit to Ethiopia, Norm and Ruthann [the founders] recognized that Ethiopian society was weighted to favor boys over girls. Women will generally not speak in the presence of men, and are expected to perform most of the menial labor associated with Ethiopia's largely agrarian lifestyle. In most families, if there is a choice of who to send to school, the son will go before the daughter. In fact, while 64 percent of boys attend school in Ethiopia, only 36 percent of girls do so. Even girls who do attend school are often forced to drop out around age 12. Then, they are expected to tend the herds or care for younger siblings. Often, they are given in marriage by their families, or become sexually active and contract AIDS/HIV. In rural areas, young girls are often kidnapped for wives by men from other villages and never seen by their families again.

And yet, studies have shown that in sub-Saharan Africa, girls who stay in school are less likely to get AIDS, will marry at an older age (and thus be better prepared for the responsibilities of being a mother, rather than passing poverty on to a child with a teenage mother), and are more likely to improve the lives of their children than comparably educated men. In fact, at the 1994 Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, one speaker declared, "Educate a woman and you will educate a nation." For this reason, COEEF remains primarily a girl’s education program.


A bit sexist, perhaps, or maybe just addressing the current situation there? In any case, the real clincher is that besides sponsoring a girl there, Dave *actually went to Ethiopia and met her*! He said the things they are doing there for the children are amazing. He knows the people who founded it, I believe, as they are from SLC like he is (don't worry, no LDS proselytizing at the school ;), and are really nice folks.

So... education -- check! Addressing inequality -- check! Proselytization-free -- check! Ability to donate a relatively small amount and make a HUGE difference -- check! (That last thing comes with the added bonus of minor ego stroke -- check! :P)

I got paid yesterday and just made a donation. OMGOMGOMG! Some girl gets to go to school now! THAT'S SO FREAKIN' AWESOME! :D :D :D

Oh, and I made my donation through my Network For Good badge, a little linky thing you can set up on MySpace and Beliefnet.com and other places. Way cool!

If you're interested in learning more about CoEEF, check out this page on their site: www.coeef.org/whatwedo.shtml

Network For Good is here: www.networkforgood.org/

My badge is here: www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx , in case you want to bump up mah numbahs! ;D

Wahoowahoowahoo! Now I'm off to climb Vesuvius! :D

Hugs,
SW


Edit: Ooo, look! Videos!

www.goodtube.org/video.php