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Changing Lives

To state that there are lots of people around the world in need of help, of one sort or another, is almost an oxymoron. However, how to help, even in some small way? - especially if there is concern that the money might not end up where it is intended to go.

That's a question addressed by Nicholas D Kristof in his latest op-ed piece for the NY Times "Changing Lives, Mitt by Mitt":

"Whenever I write about global poverty, I’m deluged by readers with variants of a single question: What can I do?

It’s a vexing query, partly because thousands of excellent aid groups compete for your checkbook, and I don’t feel qualified to make endorsements — even if I were a philanthropic adviser, which I’m certainly not.

That said, let me tell you about my own visit recently to Yuneiris, a boy in the Dominican Republic (who turns 6 years old today — happy birthday, Yuneiris!). I’ve sponsored him since 2004 through Plan USA, a major aid group, and since I was in Haiti on a reporting trip I arranged a visit while I was in the neighborhood."

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