The Tug

It is hard to imagine a more desperate scene.  4.5 million people, all refugees living in makeshift shanties of tin and wood gathered from wherever they could find the materials.  There were virtually no trees as they had been cut down years before for heat or cooking fuel.  The typical shanty is no more than 10 by 12 feet or so and can ‘house’ a family of 4 or five.  The floors are dirt.  There is no running water or electricity.  A haze of smoke from their fire pits choke the air throughout the entire complex of shanties, miles and miles all squatting on land that is not theirs.   This was South Africa outside of Johannesburg in a township called Katlehong.  The refugees were displaced citizens of the Congo and Sudan regions, all being pushed out by the warring factions determined to be ‘in control’.  “In control of what?” I found myself asking over and over.  My job for the few weeks I would be there was to simply provide what I could in skills and care for whomever I came in contact.  Instead of joining the large team of construction workers I had traveled with as they worked on a single community building, I chose the more difficult task of working in the Kanyesele Project, an AIDS care program for those in the waning days and hours of their lives and for orphans born with this terrible disease who were abandoned and living in orphanages surrounding the township. There was no turning back.  I would be irrevocably changed from this trip forward.  I have still never fully recovered and desperately want to return again.

What is it that moves us into response?  It is true that not everyone feels the same motivation to make a difference as I did several years back in South Africa but when confronted with adversity we catch a glimpse of what it means to struggle and empathy grows in us.  Whether it is a radical change in life style or simply that loose change you drop in the red bucket during the Christmas season, we can’t help but feel the tug to offer help or hope in whatever form it manifests itself.  The United States is one country that knows how to care.  We provide more aid globally than any other country.   “The US is often the largest donor in dollar terms”, Foreign Aid for Development Assistance; Shah, A. (2011).  What we want to do is ensure each dollar donated achieves its maximum potential.  We want to know that the dollars we give will ultimately impact the causes we support.

This is the same concern we have at HowGiving.com.  As we develop a mechanism that provides opportunity for you to support your cause-of-interest through online purchases, we search for additional causes that are doing the most good domestically and internationally.  We vet nonprofits using the very best tools available, such as CharityNavigator.org, then present them as options for consideration.  Our intent is to play a role in helping the impoverished, the sick, the hungry of the world by doing our small part.  If we all actually did our part, can you imagine the impact?

Join HowGiving.com, and make a difference.  While there is something in it for you, the real "tug" is your desire to help them.


And that, my friends, is why we're all here.

Posted by Brian K. Crowe, BAOM

With over 20 years in domestic and international non-profit experience, Brian recognizes the invaluable strength of service to those in need.  He has traveled the world to such places as South Africa, India, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, as well as domestically in response to catastrophic or chronic need.  Many of the stories Brian will present in his contributions to this blog will be personal accounts from friendships established as he has served … and continues to serve where opportunity knocks.