It amazes me...

that when a disease that is so deadly strikes, there are still people who rush in to contain it and save lives if possible. Ebola is one of the deadliest diseases out there, and one of the scariest that I know of. If it spreads it could be horrific. Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) does a wonderful job caring for people across the world. It's one of my favourite charities. If you're looking to give, you might want to check them out.

Guinea: Mobilising against an unprecedented Ebola epidemic

To date, Guinean health authorities have recorded 122 suspected patients and 78 deaths. Other cases, suspected or diagnosed, were found in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

MSF continues to strengthen its teams on the ground in Guinea. By the end of the week, there will be around 60 international fieldworkers who have experience in working on haemorrhagic fever. The group will be divided between Conakry and the other locations in the south-east of the country.

Among the fieldworkers are doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, water and sanitation experts, as well as anthropologists. In addition, more than 40 tonnes of equipment has been flown into the country to enable MSF teams to curb the spread of the disease.

“MSF has intervened in almost all reported Ebola outbreaks in recent years, but these outbreaks much more geographically contained and involved more remote locations, as opposed to urban areas. The vast geographic spread of the Guinea outbreak is worrisome because it will greatly complicate the tasks of the organisations working to control the epidemic,” said Lugli.

This is the most aggressive and deadly known form of the virus. It kills more than nine out of 10 patients

An MSF page on Ebola

Ebola can be caught from both humans and animals. It is transmitted through close contact with blood, secretions, or other bodily fluids.

Healthcare workers have frequently been infected while treating Ebola patients. This has occurred through close contact without the use of gloves, masks or protective goggles.

In areas of Africa, infection has been documented through the handling of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found dead or ill in the rainforest.

Burials where mourners have direct contact with the deceased can also transmit the virus, whereas transmission through infected semen can occur up to seven weeks after clinical recovery.

No specific treatment or vaccine is yet available for Ebola

One charity I support when I can

is Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/Doctors Without Borders. There is a blog entry on their site that really touched me about the frustration a doctor feels watching a young mother whose child died in her vagina during the days it took to get to their hospital, going into sepsis and eventually losing her own life as well, despite their efforts. In our country, the baby would have been delivered before it had a chance to kill its mother, and perhaps mother and baby would have been fine. But in South Sudan, it is another world entirely.

Philanthropy Friday #2

Philanthropy of the Week: Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Amount donated: $25

This is a great organisation.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization working in more than 60 countries to assist people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe.

Please see their websites, whether American or International, or their Wikipedia page, for more info.

You can follow MSF on Twitter (@MSF_USA--search for your own country's, as I know there's one for the UK, Australia, and Canada at least) or 'Like' it on Facebook to keep up with their activities as well.

Why I like it as a charity:

• It provides vital services in the face of harsh conditions such as war, disaster, etc.
  
• It does so without partisanship.
  
• 85% of the funding of MSF comes from private donations.
  
• It is well established, having been founded forty years ago.
  
• It has received the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts.
  
• 'The organization actively provides health care and medical training to populations in about 70 countries, and frequently insists on political responsibility in conflict zones such as Chechnya and Kosovo. Only once in its history, during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, has the organisation called for military intervention. In order to be able to speak and act freely, MSF remains independent of any political, religious or economic powers.'--from the Wikipedia article.
  
• The American branch was given a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator.
  
• In 2008, according to Charity Navigator, only 13 cents per dollar raised were spent on fundraising for the American branch. 1.3% was spent on administrative costs. A full 86.8% was spent on programme expenses.
  

Remembering

Today marks the first anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. Please take a few moments from your busy day to remember those who were killed, those who struggle today, and those who are in country to help.

One year out and things are kind of grim--an not just because of the cholera epidemic. According to Wikipedia:

A few days before the January 12, 2011 anniversary of the quake Oxfam published a report on the status of the recovery. According to the report, relief and recovery are at a standstill due to inaction from the government and indecision on the part of the donor countries. Robert Fox, executive director with Oxfam Canada, said, "The dysfunction has been aided unabated by the way the international community has organized itself, where pledges have been made and they haven't followed through [and] where they come to the table with their own agendas and own priorities." According to a UNICEF report, "Still today more than one million people remain displaced, living in crowded camps where livelihoods, shelter and services are still hardly sufficient for children to stay healthy". The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, set up in April 2010 and led by former US President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive to facilitate the flow of funds toward reconstruction projects and to help Haitian ministries with implementation, have, so far, started no major reconstruction. Only 2% to 4% of the rubble has been cleared, and then likely just moved to the road in front of the property. Amnesty International reports that armed men prey with impunity on girls and women in displacement camps, worsening the trauma of having lost homes, livelihoods and loved ones.

There's still such a long way to go, but it can only be accomplished by us all working together. Check out the American Institute of Philanthropy's ratings for groups with an established presence in Haiti, which includes 'grades'. The two I donated to last year, the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders//Médecins Sans Frontières (USA), were both listed. The Red Cross has an A- and MSF-USA has an A.

The AIP also includes links to how to donate safely, information on scams, etc.

Philanthropy Friday #1 (a bit late)

Because I crashed last night, I didn't get a chance to do my first Philanthropy Friday post. But I did do the first donation Friday morning, so even though it is Saturday now, here goes...

Philanthropy of the Week: God's Pantry Food Bank (Lexington, Kentucky)
Amount donated: $25 worth of packaged food

Despite their name, they are not a religious organisation as far as I can tell. They do work with hundreds of churches and social service agencies to make this all work. They were founded when a concerned citizen in Lexington started giving out food from her basement. Eventually this grew into a food bank. God's Pantry is allied with Feeding America, a network of 200 food banks throughout the country. Their mission statement is: The mission of God’s Pantry Food Bank is to reduce hunger in Kentucky through community cooperation making the best possible use of all available resources.

At work this holiday season they had several containers for God's Pantry and we filled them with almost 500 lbs of food, so they decided to leave us a container post-holiday for ready access with donations. So I took in some of my food there.

What I wish I had read first:

Top Ten Items To Avoid Donating [from someone who has relied on food banks throughout the country, who incidentally gave God's Pantry the best of thumbs' up]

That article explains what you should be giving instead, things that don't particularly need to be cooked or mixed with other things. Here is that list:

1. Dried foods (meat jerky, dried fruits, nuts, and even dried veggies!)
2. Canned Chicken and Fish
3. Canned Low Sodium Soups and stews
4. Canned Fruits / Canned Vegetables ALSO CANNED BEANS!
5. Nut butters like peanut butter, cashew butter, and almond butter

Next time I give to the food bank, I'll specifically go buy just those sorts of things, and contact God's Pantry for other suggestions. Or, there's always donating monetarily to them directly at: http://godspantry.org/donations/new

From that site:

Demand for food assistance is at an all time high and continues to grow each month. Our clients are living on the brink and are facing their own personal disasters each day. Together, we can make a difference. God’s Pantry Food Bank will distribute nearly 1.6 million pounds of food this month to those in need, but we need your help today. For every dollar donated, we are able to distribute $10 worth of food and services into the community. That’s right! Your $1 donation can deliver 4.5 meals to those who need it most in central and eastern Kentucky.

The easiest way to donate food? Go to a Kroger store in Lexington.

Kroger Bags – all Fayette Kroger Stores stock pre-made bags of food (vegetables, fruit, meat and pasta products) valued at $2.50, $5 and $10 located near the checkout lanes. Simply pickup a bag, have it scanned and drop it in the blue barrels on your way out of the store. Your charitable donation is registered on the receipt. It’s easy!

Checkout Hunger – Kroger Stores also have coupons valued at $1, $2, and $5 located at the checkout lanes. To make a donation, simply rip off a coupon and have it scanned. Your charitable donation is registered on your receipt.

So you live somewhere other than Central Kentucky; what can you do?

Find a food bank in your area and give either food or money to help your neighbours who may not be able to eat nutritious meals otherwise. It doesn't take a lot, but it can mean quite a bit. God's Pantry has programmes, for example, for kids (where they pack backpacks of food for the weekend when they don't have access to school lunches), seniors, and then the food bank. Volunteer with a food bank, so you can really see how it helps. I know one day I was just riding the bus before Thanksgiving and this woman had a box with her. I thought that odd, so I paid attention to it, and it was a Thanksgiving-in-a-box from God's Pantry. It probably meant the difference between an ordinary day and a holiday meal to her family.

Anyway, that's the 1st charity of the year. I already know what I'm doing next week. As you may remember, January 12th is the anniversary of the Haitian earthquake, which has caused so much death and suffering and now they are dealing with a cholera outbreak. Like last year, I plan to donate to MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders) in memory of that anniversary.

Again, it's not how much you can (I can't imagine donating much more than $25 at a time to anywhere, I'm just not that well off), but it's that you do donate, and others do, and every bit helps.

Some creativity is going on at YouTube in the name of charity

Here's my favourite (hey, it has Doctors Without Borders and Doctor Who, how can you go wrong? Go, Heather!):



Then there's the guy giving away 150 Star Wars books to people who donate to Make-a-Wish.

Look on YouTube. Surely one of the Project for Awesome videos (and their charities) will appeal to you.

Haitians continue to suffer

More than 2,000 dead of cholera in Haiti, officials say: 90,000 have been sickened as outbreak has spread to every region

Haiti: “If She Does Not Drink, She Will Die”

Looking to give money to for that charitable giving deduction, or just because you want to help?

Check out Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières. They are doing wonderful things in Haiti and elsewhere to keep people alive. It doesn't cost much to help.

Some good news, and a wondeful reunion

'Emotional' reunion: Mom embraces baby she thought died in Haiti quake: Girl burned before temblor gets life-saving surgery in wake of disaster
One of the charities I contributed to in response to the Haitian earthquake was Doctors Without Borders. It was a doctor with this group that realised the little girl had a life-threatening condition and helped hook her up with another charity that sponsored her to Britain for treatment. Then a journalist went to Haiti to try to locate the child's family, and although some imposters claimed her at first, they found the mother, who had the admission card for the hospital her daughter had been in when the quake hit.

I am so glad that this little girl was saved and is now with her family. And I have to admit, even though the donation I made was fairly small, I feel good knowing that Doctors Without Borders helped save her life, so maybe I helped a tiny bit, too.

I just signed a petition

How about you?

Sign the petition to support Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)'s efforts to demand that governments supplying humanitarian food aid ensure that the food meets nutritional standards for infants and young children. On World Food Day 2010, MSF will present the petition to the top food aid donor countries