Liew's Views » Philanthropy http://www.andrealiew.com/blog Random Ramblings of the Sometimes-Rambuctious and Often-Spunky Andrea Liew Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:14:22 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 WATER – a privilege which should be a RIGHT http://www.andrealiew.com/blog/2010/10/water-a-privilege-which-should-be-a-right/ http://www.andrealiew.com/blog/2010/10/water-a-privilege-which-should-be-a-right/#comments Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:23:46 +0000 andrea http://www.andrealiew.com/blog/?p=1311 Clean water is a privilege.

We often forget this because most of us living in the “western world” are so lucky.
I’ll bet that 99.99% of the people reading this (with maybe a .01% margin of error) have access to clean, safe water right now.

But what about those who don’t have clean, safe water – or water at all?
How many miles did you walk to get that glass of water?
How much time did you sacrifice to buy a bottle of it?
Do you monitor your water consumption when you shower or wash your hands?
Do you ever have to think about whether your water is disease-infested?

Clean water is a privilege. But it should be a RIGHT.

So what can you do?

  • Educate yourself on water issues around the world – start by visiting Water.org and Charity: Water
  • Donate or make purchases which give a portion of profits to water charities
  • Sign a petition to bring clean, safe water to millions
  • Write a post about Water for Blog Action Day today!
  • Read some Blog Action Day posts – some suggestions:
      Sabrina Scott: It’s #BlogActionDay – Let’s talk about Water
      Justine Abigail: Chasing water(falls)
  • Tweet about Blog Action Day by using the hashtags #BAD2010 and #Water

    • “There will never be enough charity to bring safe water to everyone”, but there are sustainable solutions.



    Find out more at Water.org

    —


    Want to help AND get something nice for yourself?

    There’s a way: Help build 3 new wells in Ethiopia!…and get a pair of seriously comfortable TOMS shoes while you’re at it.

    TOMS teams up with Charity: Water.



    ]]> http://www.andrealiew.com/blog/2010/10/water-a-privilege-which-should-be-a-right/feed/ 1 Kiva http://www.andrealiew.com/blog/2010/04/kiva/ http://www.andrealiew.com/blog/2010/04/kiva/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:09:01 +0000 andrea http://www.andrealiew.com/blog/?p=999 Got some extra cash? Want to empower people through financing?


    Be a loaner!


    Kiva - loans that change lives

    So I just made my first Kiva loans.
    I figure…if I can afford to eat out as much as I do, and spend unnecessary (and sometimes copious) amounts on entertainment, drinks, and travel…I can afford to lend money to someone who needs it more than I do.

    Enter Kiva.

    I just lent money to 3 individual entrepreneurs from 3 different countries.
    One sells books and comics in Ecuador.
    One raises guinea pigs in Peru.
    One farms bananas in the Philippines.

    My Kiva Lendees

    Over time, they will repay their loans.
    I will then receive my initial investment back.
    Then I will re-lend it to other entrepreneurs who need funding.

    You may have some questions on how this whole operation works.
    I can’t explain it like kiva.org can, so I’ve pulled some information from their website with links below.

    I hope you’ll join the loaner movement.
    [if you already aren't a part of it :)]

    —–

    What is Kiva?

    Kiva’s mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.
    Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.

    Learn more

    How Kiva Works:

      1) Field partners approve and disperse a microloan to an entrepreneur in their community
      2) The entrepreneur’s profile and story is uploaded onto kiva.org
      3) Lenders (potentially you) browse through kiva.org and choose someone to lend to using paypal or a credit card
      4) Kiva provides the loan to the field partners
      5) The entrepreneur repays their loan over time
      6) Lenders get their money back and can re-lend to another entrepreneur, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds to their PayPal accounts


    Learn more

    ]]> http://www.andrealiew.com/blog/2010/04/kiva/feed/ 2 Solidarity – T-shirts by Paulo Coelho http://www.andrealiew.com/blog/2009/12/solidarity/ http://www.andrealiew.com/blog/2009/12/solidarity/#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:50:15 +0000 andrea http://www.andrealiew.com/blog/?p=625 Starting October 8, 2009, MANGO released a second edition of Paulo Coelho’s solidarity T-shirts in 90 countries.

    Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian novelist most known for his book The Alchemist, and in September 2007, he was named a Messenger of Peace to the United Nations.

    Although the shirts were out in October, I was late to purchase them since I like to wait until I have list of things to buy before hitting the mall. I’m not the kind of person to shop for a couple of shirts one day and go back the next weekend to pick up a pair of jeans….I’ve left my mall-rat days behind!

    Well, I finally braved the mall (during the Christmas shopping season, which probably isn’t the best idea I’ve had) and found what I was looking for.

    —–


    Everyone has a treasure that is waiting just for them.
    (the picture says ‘him’, but the shirts say ‘them’)

    We are responsible for everything that happens in this world.

    The Good Fight is the one that we fight in the name of our dreams.

    Love is the key to understanding all mysteries.

    What is the real “I”? It’s what you are, not what others make of you.

    When you want something, the whole Universe conspires to help you realize your desire.

    —–

    Coelho’s messages are uplifting and inspiring, and I am a believer in the words printed on these t-shirts (even if they are hard to believe during difficult times).

    Another great thing about these shirts? Coelho’s t-shirt revenues (close to 40% of the retail price), will go to the Paulo Coelho Institute, which takes care of 430 children in Rio de Janeiro, among other projects. The Institute is a non-profit-making institution financed exclusively by the author’s royalties.

    I’m a sucker for inspirational messages and companies/products that give a portion of revenues to non-profit causes. But I don’t think that it’s a bad thing. :)

    Links:
    Paulo Coelho’s blog entry on his MANGO shirts
    MANGO’s blog entry on their Paulo Coelho shirts
    Follow Paulo Coelho on Twitter

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