Breaking the Leprosy Curse

I’ve decided to start writing about some of my favorite charities, and also donate a portion of the advertising proceeds from this blog to those charities. What are some characteristics of my favorite charities?

1. Efficiency: most of my donated money goes to helping the people, not to running big bureaucratic operations
2. Self-Sufficiency: my money isn’t used as a handout, but goes to helping people become self-sufficient (like micro-credit)
3. Big Bang for the Buck: most charities are good, but I like to have the biggest impact possible on people’s lives, for every dollar that I give
4. Involvement: I like to have the option to get involved beyond merely donating (i.e. building schools)
5. Transparency: I want to know how my money is being used & be certain that it is being used honestly

Do you know any charities that match my criteria? If so, please leave a comment below, along with a link. I just discovered a great humanitarian organization called Rising Star Outreach, where an American mother is working to cure leprosy in the slums of India. I encourage you to watch this 1 minute trailer of the documentary which aired on PBS (click here if you can’t see the video in your inbox or feed):

You can watch the full 56 minute documentary below (click here if you can’t see the video in your inbox or feed). It is very touching and definitely worth the time it takes to watch it:

Here’s the program in a nutshell: Becky Douglas, a mother of 9 children from Georgia, decided to find out more about the charity her dead daughter had donated to, so she traveled to India. The orphanage was well-funded, and she saw much worse poverty in the nearby leprosy communities. She discovered that many of the Indian people shun leprosy victims, which forces them to beg on the streets. She joins forces with an Indian diplomat to find a solution for these impoverished and starving people. But they discover that handouts only hurt these discouraged people, so they try giving small micro loans to encourage entrepreneurship. The small loans appear to fail as well, because the people have no confidence in themselves. Eventually a few women utilize these small loans and start to become successful. Other women and men become inspired and see that not only can they make good money, but that they are not useless burdens to society, like they were told.

If you were touched by this documentary, you can click here to donate to Rising Star Outreach. Even a few dollars will go a long way in India. Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment below, and also please share this review with your friends!