In my own little corner...

Light a Single Candle

As a child, I ran across the quotation "Better to light a single candle than to sit and curse the darkness."

Carlos Leite, a Brazilian who lives on the edge of poverty, seems to have done just that.

Illiterate, he has amassed a library of 10,000 volumes, which he has made available to his community of Sao Goncala.  Brazilians, on average, read less than 2 books per year (America reads 5, according to the article).   There are few or no public libraries there, and although the government has launched a campaign to build public libraries, the wheels of bureaucracy grind slowly.

Leite couldn't wait.

"Those of us who grew up here, we know what the needs of the community are," he said. "I stopped and thought, 'Wait a minute. There's not a single library. The schools have libraries, but there's no public library.' So I said, 'Let's make this dream come true.' "

Flooding in Costa Rica

David Scott Anderson tells us about the Costa Rican flood, and issues a challenge to bloggers.   Damage in Costa Rica is estimated to be about $19 million. So far, they've raised about  $200,000.  While all the attention is focused on the tsunami aftermath,  these folks are also hurting. 

Here's David's challenge:

Just $5 U.S. Dollars will buy Rice, Beans and Milk for a family of three for a week. I am asking everyone who reads this blog to donate just $5 to the Red Cross or Costa Rican Red Cross in the next week

I'm taking him up on his challenge.  I'm still waiting for my first paycheck from the new job, but I think I'm gonna skip a couple lunches this week, and send twice what he's asking for. I wish I could send more, but I'm still trying to figure out what my budget will be.

Folks, I know we're all tapped out, both emotionally and financially.  The tsunami, the economy... but if you can find the $$, please help our friends in Costa Rica.

UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot to link back to In Search of Utopia ! (DUH!) Tha'ts corrected now.

Tsunami Relief Day Jan 12

Cap'n Ed, over at the Captain's Quarters, is spearheading a fund drive for the Tsunami Relief fund at World Vision.

Ed's suggestion is that those who can afford it donate their take-home pay on Jan 12.   One day's pay, coming at a time that's in between bill-paying for most folks, donated to a top-rated charity to help out those who are less fortunate than we are, right now.

If you can't afford to donate an entire day's pay, donate what you can.

He announced this idea on Jan 1, and as of Jan 4,  his readers have already raised over $10,000.    If  you've not donated anywhere yet, and were wondering where to give,  I respectfully  suggest you join Ed's readers and help him reach his goal of raising $25K by Jan 12.

Click here to donate