A Humanitarian Gift Guide

[monk222]

One of the paradoxes of living in a wealthy country is that we accumulate tremendous purchasing power, yet it’s harder and harder for us to give friends and family presents that are meaningful. In this holiday season, sometimes a scarf from a prostituted Cambodian girl, or a scholarship for a Zambian child, is the most heartwarming gift of all.

-- Nicholas D. Kristof for The New York Times

Kristof, it may be recalled, informed us about micro-investing, investing money in the business efforts of third-world entrepreneurs. He has done it again, compiling a list of organizations that can make charitable giving more meaningful. There's even a little something for the American poor:

First Book (firstbook.org) addresses a basic problem facing poor kids in America: They don’t have books. One study found that in low-income neighborhoods, there is only one age-appropriate book for every 300 children. So First Book supports antipoverty organizations with children’s books — and above all, gets kids reading. A $100 gift will supply 50 books for a mentor to tutor a child in reading for a year. And $20 will get 10 books in the hands of kids to help discover the joys of reading.

Of course, I'm more among the American poor myself, even if I do have wonderful access to the Internet. Bus fare can be hard for me to scrounge together. But some of you all might like it.