Two Degrees of Separation

Two degrees of separation, via Berkeley graduate student Chris Blattman, between me and David--a young teenager in Uganda who has been ripped from his family, bombed, and enslaved as a child soldier.

Chris writes:

To friends and colleagues in the US,

Some of you might know that I'm doing my dissertation work on a study of former child soldiers in northern Uganda with my partner, Jeannie. As a consequence of our work, we have met some truly incredible youth affected by the war, each of whom has tremendous potential but no means to even attend secondary school or earn a living. We've helped out where we can financially, but our goals are bigger than our grad student pocketbooks. As a result, we've teamed up with two charitable organizations, GiveMeaning.Com and AVSI USA, to start a sponsorship program of at least $14,000 for some of the amazing youth we have encountered in our work.

To start we are raising school fees for two refugee brothers, David and Johnson, who despite bomb attacks, family separation, and enslavement by an armed group, have single-mindedly pursued education all their lives. They have done amazingly well on their own, but to finish high school and attend college in Uganda they will need a helping hand. If we meet our goals, there are many more youth we hope to help out.

We hope that, for many of you, this is a chance to bring a more personal and tangible touch to your giving. We also hope that you'll share this opportunity with friends, family, and colleagues. Like many charities, we can offer tax deductions in both Canada and the US. Unlike most charities, we offer a chance to know exactly whom your generosity reaches, and to share in the successes and joy it brings. Also unlike most organizations, 100% of the funds will reach these youth, and we will regularly keep givers updated with news, pictures and letters. If you are interested in learning more about the youth we are sponsoring and donating to our fund, you can visit our Giving Group at:

http://www.givemeaning.com/donate/l-ggprofile.aspx?gg=273

All the additional information and assurance you should need is just below, and I invite anyone to e-mail me at blattman@berkeley.edu if they have any further questions or concerns. Thanks so much for listening to our appeal.

Sincerely,
Chris

DONATING: If you are interested in learning more about the youth we are sponsoring and donating to our fund, you can visit our Giving Group at: http://www.givemeaning.com/donate/l-ggprofile.aspx?gg=273

ABOUT US:If you are interested in learning more about the research study Jeannie and I are running in Uganda (with AVSI and UNICEF), you can visit our project page at: http://www.SWAY-Uganda.org. I also have a web page at http://www.chrisblattman.org.

ABOUT OUR PARTNERS: Finally, if you want to learn a little more about our partner charities before donating, you can visit their websites or read articles about their good works. http://www.GiveMeaning.com is a registered charity in Canada and the US. It helps small projects like ours raise funds through online donations, and issues tax receipts to our donors at no fee. They ensure that the funds reach a registered charity in North America or abroad, in our case AVSI USA. AVSI is an international volunteer organization that we have been working with in Uganda for the past year. They are one of the most committed and longstanding aid organizations in northern Uganda, and you can read about them at http://www.avsi.org. A recent article about GiveMeaning.com in Canadian Business Magazine is here: http://www.givemeaning.com/about/l-aboutus_media.aspx?id=14.