Giving More to Others

Even when our children were small and we had little money, we did our best to try and help others. Our local shopping centre had a ‘wishing tree’ each Christmas. We would take a tag off the tree, find a gift for the person on the tag, wrap it and place it with much ceremony back under the tree. Our local centre also had a Carols by Candlelight and we would purchase the 20c candles with the money going to charity. The local supermarket used to have a basket where you could place donations for the animal welfare. It might have only been a contribution of a generic tin of dog or cat food, but it was our way of giving. For many years we would wish that we could afford to sponsor a child through World Vision, but that was not a financial option.

I would still need to be careful with what income I had, but now was the time when I could afford to help a bit more. Firstly, my simple savings group introduced me to Kiva. They are a group which provides loans to people in need of assistance in many different countries. Each lender gives $25, and the money from many lenders is combined to fund the loan to these people, who wish only to help themselves. When the loan is finished you can then lend to another person if you wish.

Secondly, I was also informed of a group called Samaritan’s Purse. They ask for a shoe box to be filled with six items – something to wear, something for school, something for hygiene, something to play with, something to love, and something special. You wrap the box in bright paper, wrapping the lid separately. The boxes are given out all over the world to children in need, being sent out in large shipping containers. The boxes are for three different age groups and for both sexes.

Thirdly, an email friend told me of a pastor and his wife, who were collecting pyjamas and soft toys for an orphanage in Vietnam. This was to be an ongoing project. Coincidentally, the orphanage was in a town that I had briefly visited some years ago.