donating in China?

[Guest]

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[olafmol]

Hello,

me and my girlfriend are very enthousiastic about the Kiva initiative, and also lending through Kiva.
We where also very much inspired by this movie/action:http://www.t2.com/waterbuffalo/

As we're going to be married this year, and want to visit China, we thought it might be a nice idea to ask for money as a gift on our
wedding, and use this money to purchase one or more waterbuffalo's in China and give them away to people/groups who really could use them, or something in this vein. IE take action in our own hands.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a lot of info about how to
approach this kind of action. We where wondering if maybe we could
combine our idea with what Kiva offers, and maybe you could help us
with it, or suggest ways to approach this?

thanks and kind regards!

Olaf Molenveld & Marjolijn de Boer

[dh]

You might want to look into www.heifer.org. While it doesn't provide the one-to-one connection you are looking for, Heifer International  is a well-respected organization with a long history of providing animals and local support to farmers. Options range from worms to water buffaloes, or you can contribute to projects such as one currently active in Tibet. You can even set up an online gift registry for your wedding. 

[olafmol]

Hello dh,

thanks for the info. But the way Heifer works is exactly the reason why the water buffalo action and movie started:

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2006/12/26/water-buffalo-worst-possible-christmas-present/

So we're looking for some other ways

Olaf

[Henry]

The Web page says that it will be given to a family in Asia. If you read the fine print on the page, however, it turns out that there is no actual buffalo and no actual family and you won’t get a photo of your family and your buffalo. The money simply gets dumped into the common fund at the charity. We are trying to decide if this is the crummiest possible Christmas present.

WOW, I was always under the impression that when you gave an animal, a family actually received an animal.

I'm a little dissapointed now.      I loved thinking I could give an animal.  Thanks for the info Olafmol

[Diane R]

I also stopped being impressed with Heifer Intl. after reading that they don't actually give what you're "buying", but rather put your donation into a pool and act like any other charity.

That's (one of the reasons) why I like Kiva. 

--Diane.

[Canadian Here]

I ACTUALLY believed that a family would get a pair of chickens or perhaps a goat until I checked it out with a pal who retired from CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) last year.
He told me "...No chickens. No goat...No livestock of any kind...".
He disabused me of any illusions I had concerning many of these "charities" and explained the "pool funding" concept in some detail. He also told me that  frequently there was corruption (i.e. payoffs to officials) in many of these countries at every stage of the process which made it difficult, if not impossible, to get the funds into the hands of the people who really needed the help.
He LOVES KIVA and the microfinance concept, by the way. Says he has seen the good that it does firsthand in many third and fourth world countries.
KUDOS to KIVA  again!

[dh]

Yes and no. From their Web site:

"As a donor, you are given the opportunity to designate gifts to specific country programs or for specific animals. Gifts are deposited into various animal accounts, such as "llama/alpaca," "tree seedlings" or "bees." We have different accounts for every type of Heifer International animal. When any animal fund becomes depleted and there is still a need, monies from any other animal fund can be used where needed most. Meeting the needs of hungry families always comes first, but we do our best to accommodate your wishes, too.

Every gift to Heifer International represents a gift to our total mission of purchasing and transporting food and income-producing animals, as well as providing intensive training in animal husbandry; environmentally sound, sustainable farming; community development and global education. Again, gifts designated for a particular project or animal are used as requested until that need is fully met. Any remaining money is put to use where it is needed most."

It's similar for most charities. People sometimes give more than is really needed in response to the big hurricane that gets national publicity, and so many individual families burned out of their homes around the country could put the excess to good use. Then again, donors may want their money to go only to hurricane relief, even if that's not the best use. You can argue as to the extent to which charities should be permitted or encouraged to use informed judgment, assuming they are up-front about it, and Heifer International could (ahem) be more careful about the impression it gives and the tradeoffs involved.

So, yes Henry, they really do give out bunnies, but if the fluffly bunny fund get oversubscribed, your bunny could turn into a hive of bees.

[And in response to Canadian Here, Heifer International has been dealing in real livestock since the post-World War II days when it would send ships with American heifers and vets to Europe. Animals are acquired locally these days.]

[Canadian Here]

Thanks for your info!
I wasn't addressing this particular charity, but the comments I made were general, rather than specific.
I will be more careful in future!
Thanks again!

[Henry]

oh, that's good info.  Now I might give one bee!   

I did like the thought of being able to give 'a goat' for this price $xxx.xx and that goat going somewhere and seeing a photo of the person or family that received it.  I'd pay a premium for that.  I imagine that makes it cost prohibitive. 

GO PATRIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!

[olafmol]

good to see some discussion going on here

I don't want to slag Heifer, i respect what they are doing, but we are really looking into some way to be able to donate something directly while we're in China, aka the way the waterbuffalo project went. Anyone got some ideas/experience how to handle this?

cheers!

Olaf