A friend of mine says that the way to help others isn't by giving aid but by going and helping to build infrastructure and to change belief systems about economics and progress. The hard thing for most of us is we don't see a means to implement these changes. I can definitely see where monetary aid can be of great help, especially when people have to live in tragic circumstances as in the recent Tsunami in Southeast Asia. Sometimes people simply need shelter, food, water, clothes, blankets and medicine to survive and thankfully there are several organizations whose sole purpose is to fulfill this need. Even with their help, around 30,000 children still die everyday in our world. If we all gave just a couple of dollars a day that we usually spend on chocolate or coffee much of this poverty could be alleviated.

I work as an Internet writer so I've been checking out some of the charities on-line. Giving is so easy these days, just a push of some buttons on your computer and you could make a positive change to the world, no matter how small the change, all actions in life have their reactions and repercussions. Check out Oxfam International, Plan International, World Wildlife Foundation, Red Cross, Unicef, Care International, World Vision, and Greenpeace just to name a few. You can also look up smaller organizations that work in your local area. A lot of the web sites are very well constructed and you can read all about their campaigns, policies, how to donate, and even how to get involved yourself if you really want to be proactive as a volunteer.

The Oxfam International site is really interesting especially if you are one of the skeptics who don't believe that the money actually goes where it is meant to after being filtered by administration etc. They give annual reports, strategic plans, mission and vision statements etc. so we can know exactly what they are doing. I can't say the same for all charities that exist, so do your research.