Putting Compassion Into Action in Africa

Somali Grandmother and child
recovering at an aid camp in Ethiopia

This past week, USAID asked Foundation Beyond Belief  if it could help raise awareness within the non-theist community about the ongoing drought and famine that is occurring within the Horn of Africa. According to USAID this is the most severe drought in 60 yrs and the UN has made a formal declaration of famine for Southern Somalia, the only such declaration made in the past 20 years.  In other words, what’s going on there is bad. Really really bad.

Why should you care? Well, if you read my blog it is either because you are a Humanist or Humanistically inclined. And that means that if you think of yourself as a compassionate and ethical person. And if you are, then you should understand that this is a situation that calls out for us to be compassionate.  It is estimated that already over 10,000 people have died with another 11 million at risk of death by starvation. Many have fled to neighboring countries to find food.

I know what you are thinking. Sure I care, but what can I do?  Well, you can put your compassion into action, as that is the hallmark of what it means to be a Humanist. We believe that we not only can do something to make a difference but that we have a moral responsibility to do so.  In this case, you can donate some money to help with the relief effort.

USAID, as it is a government agency, does not accept donations directly from the public as they are funded by our tax dollars. Instead, donate to Foundation Beyond Belief to their crisis response page: http://foundationbeyondbelief.org/crisis   They have chosen the International Rescue Committee, which is working in Somoalia

If you would like to make a direct donation you can choose from one of the charities doing relief work in the Horn of Africa.  Here is a list: http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/interaction-members-respond-drought-crisis-horn-africa

Put your compassion into action and make a donation to Foundation Beyond Belief's Humanist Crisis Response. Whatever you can afford. You may just save a life and isn’t that worth it? And, double plus good, you will have shown USAID that the non-theist community is just as generous at responding to people in need as our religious counterparts are.  So make your donation today!

Pick One

One of the topics that comes up during the Q&A after my talks is how to not get overwhelmed. Once you start feeling compassion for everyone on the planet, the challenge becomes how to not let all the bad stuff that is happening to all those people overwhelm you. Related to this is how to survive emotionally amongst all the requests for assistance. There are so many good causes to get involved with and they are all worthy and they all need help. How is a good person supposed to maintain balance in the face of it all?

My advice? Pick one. You can’t do it all, but that shouldn’t stop you from doing something. So pick something that matters to you and that you think you can make a difference in. It really doesn’t matter what it is. Just pick one, get involved and try to make things better in that one area. Not only will you be more effective if you focus your efforts, you will also be happier.

We all know intellectually that we can’t do everything at once and be everywhere simultaneously and that we shouldn’t even try to. The problem is convincing our hearts, which bleed with compassion. Just remind yourself that there are in fact people working on those other issues and their work frees you up to focus on the one issue you have picked, safe in the knowledge that those other issues are indeed being worked on.

If that doesn’t do the trick, I will absolve you of the sin of not being superhuman. There - now you have my official permission to pick one without feeling too much guilt. So go forth and help make your corner of the world a better place.

Helping Pakistan

The floods in Pakistan are massive.  About 1/5th of the country has been affected, an area the size of Belgium, Austria and Switzerland combined. At least 1.2 millions homes have been destroyed with the UN reporting that 17.2 million people have been affected, 8.6 million of which are children.  To get a scope of the disaster, consider this.  Already more people have been affected then the Asian Tsunami, and the Haiti and Kashmir earthquakes combined.

According to the latest UNICEF report, the greatest humanitarian needs are: Food, clean water, hygeine, medical supplies and rebuliding of schools.

Humanists are helping by donating through SHARE (the Skeptics and Humanists Aid and Relief Effort), which will forward all donations on to Oxfam which has been active in Pakistan doing relief work for children and women prior to the floods.

The UN's report on the needs assessment for Pakistan is located here: http://www.unicefusa.org/assets/pdf/UNICEF-Immediate-Needs-Document-Pakistan-Flooding-26-August-2010.pdf

If you want to donate directly to the UN relief effort in Pakistan, you may do so here: http://www.unicefusa.org/work/emergencies/flood-relief/?gclid=CMmc_Inn36MCFYNR2godpj9GSA

The important thing is to help.  These are our fellow human beings here. If we are to call ourselves Humanists, we must be willing to act on our compassion for others. Donate today!

Foundation Beyond Belief is up and running

The wait is over, Dale McGowan’s Foundation Beyond Belief is officially operational. This is a foundation where Humanists and atheists can pool their resources to support important humanitarian work as Humanists.

The Foundation Beyond Belief is a new 501c3 charitable and educational foundation created (1) to focus, encourage and demonstrate humanistic generosity, and (2) to support a nationwide education and support program for nontheistic parents.

The first aspect of Foundation Beyond Belief’s work is to raise money for charity. They have 10 issue areas they focus on and every quarter choose 10 beneficiary organizations they members can donate to. At the end of every quarter, the money is passed on to the beneficiary and a new set is chosen. Members of Foundation Beyond Belief are encouraged to make monthly donations to support this effort.

The 10 issue areas Humanists can donate to are:

1. Health


2. Education


3. Poverty


4. Environment


5. Child Welfare


6. Human Rights


7. Animal Protection


8. Peace


9. The "Big Bang" Fund (small charity, big impact)


10. Foundation Beyond Belief

The second aspect of their work is to support humanist parents. To that end then intend to train 10 – 20 individuals to conduct Humanist-parenting seminars across the country.

To learn more about Foundation Beyond Belief visit their website at: http://www.foundationbeyondbelief.org/

And view this handy promotional video