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| Bell Ringers, Plasma
TV’s, and Year-End:
Can we find a December compromise?
December. It’s a time when nonprofits
and charitable organizations tend to solicit
most heavily from individuals and family foundations,
seeking last minute donations made in view of
year-end tax perks and the generosity that stems
from holidays’ glad tidings. Good economy or
not, December is a time when people remember
not just their own families and friends, but
also strangers in need.
But 2004’s month of “good will
toward men” is turning out a little differently.
The Boston Herald recently ran
a cover article on the increasing demand for,
and decreasing presence of, support for such
traditionally successful-in-December charitable
organizations as the Salvation Army and Toys
for Tots. In Boston, Toys for Tots usually fills
300 orders in a season; this year, they are
currently unable to fill 30 of the 71 orders
they’ve received (Boston Herald 12/15/04).
The Salvation Army has also been
struggling, due in large part to a nationwide
trend of banning solicitation outside major
chain stores such as Target, Costco, and Toys
R’ Us.
Few would argue that dropping
a dollar or two into Santa’s kettle significantly
dips into their holiday spending cash. But a
recent letter to the Editor in a Boston paper
suggested a thoughtful explanation for this
ban on solicitation: people are less likely
to spend money on plasma TV’s and expensive
toys if they are simultaneously being reminded
of all the people who cannot even afford to
feed their families.
Couple this with the fact that
few people’s guilt is really assuaged by making
a couple dollars’ donation, and we have a seemingly
intractable conflict of interest. Is there any
compromise to be found?
A few years back, there was a
campaign to give “concrete” charitable donations
made on one’s behalf, like “buying” a square
foot of rainforest or a share in domestic livestock.
This seems like an idea that, although still
present, needs to be re-emphasized. If every
middle and upper class parent in America were
to put 1/10 of the money they’d normally spend
on their children’s presents towards a donation
in their children’s names, we’d have the most
successful December on record. And while this
sort of gift might not compare to the latest
toy, a lot of children would think it was really
cool to “own” a piece of land in the rainforest,
or a lion in Africa. This sort of gift, given
alongside the toy the kids have been clamoring
for since June, gives parents the gift of knowing
that they’ve contributed not only to their children’s
holidays, but also to the world their children
will be inheriting.
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like to hear what you think on the matter. Email
us with your thoughts. Feedback
published will receive a free lb. of Kenya
Morning coffee. (Please send details of where
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|
This
month the focus is on The Republic of the Congo,
where civil wars
and militia conflicts have plagued the country
throughout its recent past, but hopes for
stability have recently been raised.
|
| Official
name: |
Republic of the Congo
/
Congo (Brazzaville)
|
| Capital: |
Brazzaville
|
| Currency: |
CFA (Communaute Financiere Africaine) franc
|
| Languages: |
French, indigenous African languages |
| Religions: |
Christianity, indigenous African beliefs
|
|
Population:
|
3.8
million |
| Land
Area: |
132,047
sq miles (
slightly smaller than Montana
)
|
| Location: |
Western
Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean,
between Angola and Gabon
|
| Life
Expectancy: |
47
years (men), 50 years (women) |
| Main
Exports: |
Oil, timber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds
|
|
Natural
Resources:
|
petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural
gas, hydropower
|
| Average
Annual Income: |
unable
to determine |
| Independence: |
1960 |
|
President: |
Denis Sassou-Nguesso
|
| A
Brief History: |
Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the
Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was
abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government installed in 1992.
A brief civil war in 1997 restored
former Marxist President SASSOU-NGUESSO, but
ushered in a period of ethnic unrest. Southern-based
rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord
in March 2003.
The Republic of Congo is one
of Africa's largest petroleum producers with
significant potential for offshore development.
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The
African ass is a grey-coated relative of our domestic
donkey living in the rocky deserts of Africa and
is the smallest member of the horse family and
is critically endangered. |
|
The
African pygmy goat is a miniature dairy goat with
milk production being quite generous for their
small size. They will produce as much as a quart
and a half per day for up to ten months. |
| |
Roman
historian Pliny gave bustards their original Latin
name, avis tarda, meaning "slow bird."
The Latin designation eventually fledged into
abetarda in Portuguese, ottarda in Italian, bistarde
in old French, and finally "bustard"
in English. |
|
During
the dry season in East Africa, wildebeest (Connochaetes
taurinus) form herds tens of thousands strong
to migrate more than 1,000 miles in search of
food and water. |
| |
Over
millions of years, hoofed mammals have evolved
long, sturdy legs ideal for running. The long,
fused bones in their feet are raised off the ground—they
run on tiptoes—and their toenails have evolved
into strong hooves. Gazelles, like all artiodactyls,
have an even number of toes. Equids (horses and
zebras), like all perissodactyls, have an odd
number. |
|
Although
the marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus)
primarily scavenges its meals, it also kills
and eats termites, young crocodiles, flamingos,
and small mammals. |
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| 1
Sudan
Aid
workers fled into bush areas to escape fierce
clashes in Sudan's Darfur region before being
rescued by an African Union helicopter and
flown to safety, U.N. and aid agency officials
said.
Click
here for more news on this story
2
Republic
of Congo
Human
rights groups urged the Republic of Congo's government
to ratify an international treaty that
would protect the rights of pygmies, many of
whom live in virtual slavery here.
Click
here for more news on this story
3
Namibia
Namibia's ruling South West African People's Organization retained its two-thirds
majority in the National Assembly Sunday after a landslide victory in parliamentary
and presidential elections.
Click
here for more news on this story
4
Kenya
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has opened
an international landmine conference with an appeal
for more countries to sign up to the treaty banning
them.
Click
here for more news on this story |
5
Ivory Coast
African leaders ended an emergency
summit early this month on Ivory Coast agreeing
to support an arms embargo and other proposed
U.N. sanctions against the government and rebels
as the defiant Ivorian president stayed home,
vowing to defend his country.
Click
here for more news on this story
6
Kenya
Africa
could pull itself out of endemic poverty if
its men were to treat women as equal partners
in managing the continent's vast natural wealth
and resources, 2004 Nobel Peace laureate Wangari
Maathai said.
Click
here for more news on this story |
7
Uganda
An anthrax
outbreak has killed 194 hippos in western Uganda,
and scientists are struggling to develop a
way to quickly diagnose and contain the disease.
Click
here for more news on this story
8
Rwanda
Rwanda has warned it will launch an
attack "very soon" on Rwandan Hutu rebels sheltering
in eastern Congo, the U.N. mission said, raising
fears of the renewal of one of Africa's most
devastating conflicts. A Rwandan official denied
the allegations.
Click
here for more news on this story
9
Sudan
Warring factions in southern Sudan
have signed a pledge to formally end their
21-year old civil war at a rare meeting of
U.N. Security Council ambassadors in Nairobi.
Click
here for more news on this story
|
|
If you would like any books relating to the Republic of
the Congo, you can buy one of those featured below, or any
other from Amazon's selection by clicking on the link. Buying
from Amazon through our site will benefit our programs.
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