Welcome!
This site's purpose is to spread the word about sites that help to fight poverty and/or save the environment.
I'm hoping that this site becomes a meeting place for eduators so they can coordinate with or challenge other classes around the world.
It is also meant for anyone who wants to help others. It can be a daily portal to all of these sites.
Thank you for helping and please come again.
Free Rice
Improve your vocabulary and donate rice to the poor just by playing a game. For every word that you get right, sponsors donate enough money to buy 20 grains of rice. (see tips below)
Microfinancing
Simply put, you become a banker in microfinancing. Through these two companies, you loan money to people to make business improvements and then they pay you back.
Kiva's
an organization that lets you loan money to people who have requested
loans for business improvements. They outline their business
proposal and the rate at which they'll repay the money. The success
stories are great to read.
MicroPlace
is very similar to Kiva in that they provide loans to "millions of
hard-working poor people worldwide". This ebay company
differs in
that interest is paid back to you (roughly 1-3%).
Other
Books Worth Reading
Visitors
Site Launched 2 December 2007
Thank you for visiting!
One Click is all it takes
When you click on these links, these sites donate money to various causes on behalf of the sponsors who advertise there.
The Hunger Site
Hunger, Breast Cancer, Child Health, Literacy, Rainforest and Animal Rescuer
Care2
Global Warming, Rainforest, Seals, Oceans, Big Cats, Primates, Children, Pets, Stop Violence and Breast Cancer
Ecology
Fund
South American Rainforest, Reduce Pollution, Western U. S. Wilderness, Nature Reserves in Scotland, Patagonian Coastal Reserve
For Christmas
This Christmas, give the gift of a loan on Kiva or give the gift of an animal with Heifer International.
FAQ
1. What is this site all about?
This site is designed to promote and educate people about poverty and environmental issues. More importantly, it's meant to help people to help others.
2. Who runs this
site?
I do. I'm Derwin Kitch (personal website
here),
a teacher in Santiago, Chile with a beautiful wife, a great daughter
and a Cocker Spaniel named Simba. My life is great.
It's
now my obligation to help others and the environment.
3. How do click throughs
work?
You click...someone else pays.
When you click on the link for a certain
cause,
a page of advertising appears. In return for having their
advertising appear on that page, the advertisors donate money through
the website
for that cause. You donate money simply by clicking.
4. Are these
sites legitimate?
As far as I can tell, YES!
Free Rice is mentioned and linked to on the United Nations website so
it must be legitimate.
Thehungersite and care2 networks are legitimate as well judging from
the
reviews that I have read.
Kiva and MicroPlay are definitely legitimate as well. If
Oprah and Bill Clinton talk about them, they're legit!
The Heifer Site is an established institution as well.
5. Should I
visit the
sponsors' sites?
There
is no responsibility on your part to visit the sponsors' websites.
Please keep in mind, however, that they are providing
the cash for the donations. Even though they are obviously
doing this out of the goodness of their own hearts, if no one ever
visited their sites they may stop their sponsorship.
6. Why did I go with a
free web hosting service?
To keep costs down. What I don't spend on web hosting, I'll
donate personally or loan the money on Kiva.
7. What are the message boards about?
The message boards are meant
to be a place where you can connect with
others. A
place to share ideas whether it be about other
websites that help or
how you and your class or family are helping.
8. What am I doing personally to help out?
Besides running this site (which is easy), I do my 'click throughs' every day and do at least 400 grains of rice (usally more) on Free Rice (highest level attained so far is 41...I'll get to 42 yet!).
My wife and I sponsor a family in India through the Save A Family Plan. The family now is able to send their two children to school.
My wife and I also got involved in helping the survivors of the tsunami in Sri Lanka. We worked through our church there in providing fishing nets, sewing machines, fishing boats, hair trimmers and other items that helped survivors get back to work. It was, without a doubt, the most rewarding experience of our lives.
We are also buying Kiva gift certificates for each other for Christmas. Our nieces and nephews are also getting Kiva gift certificates from us for Christmas.
9. Why start this site?
For a number of reasons, really. The major one being that I have lived and taught in Kuwait, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and now Chile. I have seen some extreme examples of poverty.
I have looked into the eyes of a man with no legs who pushed himself around on a little block of wood with wheels on it and have seen the pain there.
I've been involved in some work with tsunami victims in Sri Lanka and have seen how they persevere and continue on despite the horrible loss of life that they experienced. That work was the most rewarding experience of my life.
The tsunami experience also taught me how big a difference the smaller organizations and inviduals themselves can make.
Compared to most, I'm extremely rich. I have an obligation and responsibility to leave the world a better place than I found it.
I'm doing a little more to help now than I did, but by reaching out to other people and teachers, I hope to spread the word on how easy it is to help.
10. What do I hope to accomplish?
A number of things:
I hope to show people that they can contribute for free by using the Click to donate and Free Rice sites.
Also, I hope to show people that a little money can be of tremendous help to others.
If teachers can pass these lessons of giving and caring on to their students and connect with other teachers and classes around the world, then we're all better for it.
The hope is that this site is one of the pebbles that helps to start the avalanche of helping others.
Games
Food Force and Wolf Quest are games that my students love. They are the only two games that I allow in the computer lab at lunch time. They're both meant to be entertaining and educational.
Food Force (for both Windows and Macs) lead the students through the steps that it takes bring to bring food the people on a ficticious island who are suffering because of civil strife. This popular game is made by the good people at the United Nations World Food Program.
Wolf Quest is made by the people at the Minnesota Zoo in an attempt to help educate people about the wolf behavior and ecology.
Darfur is Dying is an online game that puts you in Darfur where you must try to survive. It's a shocking glimpse into the lives of the refugees there.
Charity
Heifer International is an organization that purchases animals on behalf of those in need. The recipients also get special training on care for the animals. These animals help to provide food and/or extra income for the family. Better yet, the recipients of the animals must pass on offspring of their gift to other needy families! Some of the animals include:
Flock of Chicks: $20
Flock of Geese: $20
Flockvof Ducks: $20
Trio of Rabbits: $60
Goats: $120
Sheep: $120
Llama: $150
Heifer: $500
You can see their entire catalogue and the benefits that each animal provides here.
Educator Resources
This is a section that I hope to update constantly as others joins and add ideas. For now, these are educational links from the sites already listed on this page.
Please join the message board and share ideas or contact other teachers and classes around the world and join in the fight to end poverty and save our environment.
Other ideas for school:
1. Sign in to the message board and let other teachers around the world know that you are interested coordinating with or challenging their classes. Challenge another class in another country to Free Rice.
2. Hold a fund raiser and apply the money to Kiva or Heifer. Allow the students to pick who they want to give the money to and why. Post pictures of the people you help on the message board. Encourage other classes to do the same.
3. Join the care2 network and use your class name as the username (ex. Nido5B). Let the students know of the password and they can log in at home. Watch your totals grow. Add others as friends (add me please: derwink).
4. Have Free Rice available for the students to play when they are done their class work or at lunch.
5. Share the link of this page with other teachers that you know.
6. Let others know what you are doing on the message board. Share your creative ideas.
7. Sign up for the Heifer's Read to Feed Program.
8. Add the links to these websites or the link to this page as a footer in your email signature.
9. Add a link to this site or the other sites listed here on your teacher or school web page.
10. Have in-class challenges with Free Rice by dividing the class into teams, for example. Have races between classes. Keep track of the Vocab Level of your class.
11. Brag about your accomplishments! Let others know what you are doing and that they can help too!
12. On Free Rice, if you go to Options you can set your computer up to keep track of the vocab level and the donation totals. Compare your levels with other classes around the world!.
13. Email me with more ideas.
Thank you for visiting!