Listen, I didn’t mean to make it a trend for my articles to be calls to action, but here we are again. There are so many nonprofits in the world that are striving to make this a better place for all of us, and here are four to get your caring jump-started:
Rats
Rats don’t always get a fair shake. Sure, we loved Pizza Rat, but usually we’re disgusted when we see them in an alley or subway station. I had rats (Rob and Roy) back in high school, and they made great pets, but more importantly, rats are now being trained to save us. That adorable leashed creature you see up there is the African Giant Pouched Rat, and a non-profit organization called APOPO (Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling; English: Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development) is training them to sniff out tuberculosis and landmines.
The rats are trained for landmine detection using positive reinforcement and clicker training, and move gradually from simple, controlled test environments to working in the field, and have to pass tests more rigorous than required by the International Mine Action Standards. These rats, which the organization calls HeroRATs, are making a huge difference in the removal of landmines in Tanzania, where the org is headquartered, as well as in Angola, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Mozambique, Thailand and Viet Nam. They have cleared hundreds of thousands of miles of previously inaccessible land of nearly 70,000 landmines and other UXO.
On the tuberculosis front, APOPO has facilities in three cities in Tanzania, and they have the rats sniff-test thousands of sputum samples every month to detect the disease, not only for Tanzanians but for the continent at large. These sniff-tests are actually more effective than other kinds of testing available in the region, and many people who initially received a negative test result were later shown to have the disease by the rats and were able to receive timely treatment. The training takes about nine months, and these rats have detected over 300,000 cases of the disease thus far.
If you’re like me, you’re worried about how these HeroRATs are treated. As it turns out, they are incredibly well taken care of, with balanced and well-monitored diets, comfortable living spaces, socialization opportunities, and on-staff veterinarians to care for them. And not a single one of the rats has ever died or been injured in their work; unfortunately, many humans in the landmine removal business have, so the rats turn out to be the perfect safe and humane alternative. On an unrelated note, the organization is dedicated to empowering women in these countries to work with them, and strive to hire as diverse a staff as possible. Though it is a Dutch organization, they employ many local people in each of these removal areas. Visit the site to learn more here: www.apopo.org/en/
Girls
Let’s talk about Female Genital Mutilation (FMG) for a moment. It’s not a nice subject, but I want to make sure we are all on the same page here. The World Health Organization defines FGM as “all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons” and notes that it is also referred to as “female circumcision” and “female genital cutting.” If you want to read about the four different types of FGM, you can do so here Over 200 million females alive today have been subjected to the procedure, and though it is impossible to pinpoint the exact number of girls who have died from the procedure or subsequent complications (such as infections or during childbirth) it is estimated that ⅓-⅕ of all victims suffered complications up to and including death. Here’s a map from UNICEF showing where FGM still takes place:
Now that we have the ugly basic information part out of the way, I’d like to introduce you to Clitoraid. It’s an organization that provides surgery to help restore sexual function in women who have been been mutilated. The website is an emotional roller coaster: You’ll read about girls who were kidnapped and mutilated, as well as success stories from women who underwent surgery, and even one from a victim’s boyfriend who wants to support her through the journey. The organization not only offers surgery to these victims, but counseling and support throughout the process. Unfortunately, the funding is extremely limited and most women who want the treatment are unable to receive it. 2014 should have seen the opening of Clitoraid’s “Pleasure Hospital” in Burkina Faso to treat these victims; the hospital is fully equipped and ready to operate, but religious groups in the country successfully pressured the government into stopping the hospital from ever opening. Read more about the organization here: clitoraid.org
Children
If you thought things were going to get nicer after FGM, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Bear with me though, because this next organization is doing a lot of good. Railway Children is a U.K.-based international nonprofit with the aim of rescuing street children. According to UNICEF there are up to 100 million street children worldwide, though exact numbers are extremely difficult to come by. These children are often abused, neglected, starving, suffering from preventable and curable illnesses, and exploited. In Brazil, 6,000 street children were murdered between 1988 and 1991, many by police officers, some by vigilantes in exchange for bounty payments from local shopkeepers. Remember this little dude?
What he’s doing, standing up to the riot police, could easily have gotten him killed, and may eventually have. That’s part of the problem: No one knows what happens to many of these children. But Railway Children is changing that. They work on three tiers: the street, the community, and the government, in the U.K., India and Africa. On the street level, they connect with the children and try to meet their basic needs while working out a permanent home for them. Within the communities, they teach locals about the needs of the children and how they can help. Finally, at the government level, they lobby politicians to prioritize the protection of children and to enforce existing laws. Every year they support thousands of vulnerable children, many of whom end up in permanent, caring homes. Read more about the organization here.
Animals
We’ll end on a lighter note: happy animals. This one is tough because so many organizations exist to help animals, but this one is easily accessible for everyone with an internet connection. There are many “click” to give” sites, and some people have called their effectiveness into question, but there are two I’d like to share with you today: freekibble.com and freekibblekat.com. The sites donate food to shelters, help build new shelters, and provides other support for animals and those who help them. There’s also a Free Rice option for providing food through the World Food Program.
So here’s the call: as young, untethered, caring adults in a wealthy country we are uniquely positioned to make a huge difference in the world. No one expects you to care about everything, but everyone cares about something, so here’s a list of organizations to which you can donate time, money or even just awareness. Have a moonwalking pony to inspire you:
Pictures: https://coopcatalyst.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/349b0f0c6ef363a41f0c43603b4a47d1.jpg
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