KRNS

Having just responded to the post on baby eles I thought I would start this one. I am going to give a gift of fostering an elephant through the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to some people on my Christmas list and would like us to share other suggestions like donating to the mosquito netting project in someone's name for this holiday season or birthdays etc. Here is my info: www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

Thanks, Karen

MyDogKyle

Great post idea, Karen. Here are a few more terrific causes to support:

You can sponsor a chimp from the Sonso community through the Budongo Conservation Field Station in Uganda. We visited them this past October, and they are doing some really amazing work there with snare removal, emergency veterinary care for snared chimps, and education projects for the local community. Since the field station is for researchers and not open to tourists, this is an organization people might not be aware of -- here's their website: http://www.budongo.org/

Another wonderful organization is the Tanzanian Children's Fund, which lots of people on this board have visited (they operate the Rift Valley Children's Village near Karatu). You can sponsor a child or donate items to the kids (they have a wish list on their website):
http://www.tanzanianchildrensfund.org/

cruisinred

Consider sponsoring an Ethiopian child with HIV, that has been orphaned by AIDS.
http://www.ahopeforchildren.org/give.html

I volunteered with this organization and can attest that it is very well run, and the children are very well cared for.

amycyma

Thanks all these are great gift ideas. and I will add another one. Kiva is a micro lending organization. They funnel micro loans through other lending institutions to small business people all over the world. And they do a great job of keeping you informed of when the loans are paid back. I started with 4 small loans, then as they were paid back i reloaned the money. You go through their site and choose who you specifically wish to loan to.

www.kiva.org

Wishing you all the best of the holiday season

Amy

ShayTay

Gee, three of my favorites are already listed. I sponsor the ele Chyulu at Sheldricks and loan funds via Kiva. Tanzanian Children's Fund is a special one for me. I sponsor a little boy named Mole and have taken groups there on three occasions. The first one planted trees at what is now the Rift Valley Children's Village.

Another organization through whom I sponsor children in Kenya is Special Ministries, www.kenyahope.org. They have several programs beyond child sponsorship, such as their "Feed a Family" and "Kids for Kids" (a goat for a child) projects. They also give monetary gifts (not loans) to help a person start a small business. I've been to their offices in Nairobi several times and met their dedicated staff. I also visited their Hope Center in Kibera, and met one of "my kids".

In our family, we often give gifts to charitable organizations in lieu of Christmas gifts. You can give gift certificates for Kiva, available online. Just make sure the recipient understands what to do with them.

amycyma

Karen
thanks for for the Sheldrick site, I just fostered 2 babies for gifts for my nephews. And i wanted to post so these GIFT IDEAS would go back up there at the top of the the list.
happy holidays to all
Amy

Leely2

My faves are already listed too. Although not Africa-specific, I also support the Center for Biological Diversity:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/

And this is <b>not</b> an org, but I always stuff my family's stocking with Cards from Africa-- absolutely beautiful cards.
http://cardsfromafrica.com/

Thanks to all for calling my attention to some worthy organizations I hadn't heard of.

Much love and peace to the Fodor's Africaphiles.

PredatorBiologist

This one helps Rwandan genocide victims build their own capacity, a fantastic local upliftment program and the organization is also active in Darfur and the parts of Uganda that have suffered atrocities in recent years.

http://network4africa.org/

As Leely posted I like this one too as a way of supporting people working for themselves http://cardsfromafrica.com/

Nyamera

Toilets For Everyone
http://www.maratriangle.org/kisaru-m...munity-projec/

Merry Christmas