Small things.

I know I cant change the world in a day. And actually right now I am too pre-occupied with my own life. Pretty sad, huh?

I remember this one time during the war in jugoslavia, when I was standing in Leendert's kitchen and crying, cause I felt that I should go and help. But he really made me think. He said: What are you going to do? You arent a nurse or a doctor. You have no experience with this kind of work. Think about the best way you could help.

I did, and also a lot of people tell me, key to many issues is money. And I guess if I make money in one way or the other, its also a way of supporting the right ideas and values. Therefore I am trying to support the organizations who DO the right things and have the knowledge to do so...even though after I read about the things that happend with the funds for the Tsunami victims and about development aid in Africa I am not even sure IF they are really doing the right thing...*sigh* why is there always two sides of a story?


So what am I doing for now, that I dont earn money?
I did the same thing like last year: I asked my friends to make a donation for my birthday instead of buying me some present I dont even need. I took the collected money and added some. Probably some ppl will think: pretty cool idea, but I know there are also a lot of ppl out there who grin and think "Does she really think that helps?" and some will probably think "there is sooooo much more she could do". But for now, for me its a start.

Anyways....here are the organizations:


1. Friedensdorf International e.V.
Its a project where they take care of children from war zones. They arrange their operations and then make sure they get back home to their families.

2. Hermann-Gmeiner-Fond/Casa Ute
It is a project supported by the family of Ute. She was a LCP while I was regional chair. She was awesome. Full of ideas and energy. She died during a trip with her friends. Her family helped to realize Ute's dream: They built a house for children in Argentina.

3. WWF
Back in 1961 when it was founded, WWF stood for the "World Wildlife Fund". However, as the organization grew over the 70s and into the 80s, WWF began to expand its work to conserve the environment as a whole (reflecting the interdependence of all living things), rather than focusing on selected species in isolation. So although we continued to use our well-known initials, our legal name became "World Wide Fund For Nature" (except in North America where the old name was retained).

4. Ärzte ohne Grenzen (German branch of Doctors without borders)