Charity for Malian orphans

They're not trying to save the world, they're just trying to dig a well. I like tangible goals.

I’m a little weird when it comes to charities.  I enjoy giving money to worthy causes but I don’t like giving to large, faceless organizations, and for that reason I tend to shy away from organized charity drives like the Combined Federal Campaign.  Fortunately, this year I learned that a friend of mine who I work with runs a non-profit charity for Malian orphans.  (Mali is a landlocked country in the Northwest portion of Africa – yeah, I had to look it up too)  She started the charity because she was once a Malian orphan, but with the proper support and education she has earned a commission as an officer in the United States Navy.  I don’t want to say (and nor would she) that her story is any more heroic than other peoples who have overcome significant hardships to make a better life for themselves, but the fact that she devotes a significant amount of her free time to running a charity for which she cares very deeply while still carrying all the responsibilities of a naval officer is quite special.  If you’re looking for a charity to donate to but, like me, don’t feel comfortable giving money to charities that have large overheads because you don’t really know where your money is going, take a look at these links: 

http://www.globalgiving.com/projects/build-a-home-for-orphans-in-mali/

http://www.acfacorp.org/index.php/founders-message.html

If I didn’t know the person who runs this charity I would probably not pay it any more attention than any of the thousands of other charities that are out there but given that I know the founder and how capable she is at managing large projects, I feel that this is a charity I can trust to send my money where it is needed, which in this case is a run down section of a poor country that just happens to have had the good luck to produce a highly competent and caring naval officer, one who devotes the majority of her free time to helping a part of the world that most of us have to google in order to find out where it even is!

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