Save the Children Sponsorship

Just as I was finishing up reading Cool It, I got mail from Save the Children. I've been a supporter of their work for a few years now. They were offering a reduced rate to sponsor a child: $18 per month, instead of the usual $28. Well, here was an opportunity to help people in the Third World right now (rather than decades from now), and at a bargain price too. I've become the sponsor of Shaymaa, a nine year old girl in Egypt. In the packet they sent to me was a sobering summary of the area she lives in:

Malnourishment is 37%, and intestinal worm infection is nearly 30% for children under 5 years old. School enrollment drops in the primary level to 15%, especially among girls. Agricultural activity is practiced by 89% of the population. Illiteracy is about 65% and percentage of university education is nearly 7%.

She is in primary school right now, so I guess she is one of the lucky ones who doesn't end up out of school and working the family farm. I hope that, with a little help from me, she can continue her education and have a brighter future. I've just sent her an e-mail, but I'm told it may be months before I get a reply from her. When I do I'll post it here.

The Most Bang for the Buck?

Developing nations will need $86 billion annually to adapt to climate change, according to the UN. If they don't get it, they aren't going along with any new treaty to cut CO2 emissions.

A few years ago, a study found that six million children could be saved every year for around $5 billion. We still see almost ten million children die every year from preventable and treatable causes. Why not spend a small amount of money now to save millions, instead of a much larger amount to deal with what might happen years from now?

If China and India don't change their ways soon, it really won't matter if these other developing nations participate or not. And maybe freer trade would advance the developing world more in the long run, rather than protectionism and hand outs.