Written By:
r0b - Date published:
9:30 am, December 6th, 2009 - 4 comments
Categories: International, poverty, Social issues -
Tags: christmas
Got too much stuff? Know people with too much stuff? Do something different for your friends and family this Christmas. Instead of giving them a gift, give a gift in their name. Give a goat. Or a water pump. Or a pair of sandals. Or medical help. Or any one of a huge range of useful gifts. Give to someone that needs it in India, or Afghanistan, or Bangladesh or Africa…
There are many organisations that make it easy. Good Gifts was among the first to get organised on the web. They act as a clearing house where you can buy from their range of gifts, and they deal with a charitable organisations world wide to make it happen. They guarantee that the money they receive is used as stated and the gift is delivered.
If you want something local, see for example The Leprosy Mission New Zealand, who have a similar system, Really Good Gifts. Give education for a girl, a vegetable seed hamper, beehives, or a cow. Orders must be in by 11th December to arrive for Christmas.
Why not get together with friends and family and agree to do it differently this year? Reclaim Christmas from endless commercialisation. Give gifts that matter.
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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I think this is a wonderful post and a wonderful thought.
I have been doing this for a couple of years now. I look around my home and I see piles of junk that only makes me sadder. And the thought of adding to it depresses me. What better way to celebrate Christmas than to buy a school desk for a child in the third world while at the same time making a statement about consumerism? I feel much happier knowing that my home will be slightly less cluttered and that the life of someone else will be enriched. I am sure that Jesus would approve whole heartedly.
I look forward to reading the comments from the Christian Right about what IMHO is a very Christian proposal.
The Guardian has some good thoughts here too:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2009
..possibly the most useful and relevant post this month LOL – I have just gifted a beehive on behalf of my parents – I echo the comments of mickeysavage – too much junk and useless crap we/they don’t really need…..