The Nirmukta Freethought Community

The recent Nirmukta video contribution to the Out Campaign concludes with the call "Let us come together to build a culture of Reason and Compassion!". Building a culture of Compassion involves exercising empathy in tangible ways and putting our money where our mouth is.

Here is the beginning stub of a list of philanthropic initiatives in India and abroad, which are involved in activities serving urgent human needs, protecting human dignity and promoting human freedoms in a manner that is non-discriminatory of the faith-affiliations, gender identities and other antecedents of the beneficiaries as well as the donors.

In the list, I have limited myself to charities with whose representatives I have had at least a brief interaction on campus or outside. The links provide information about the beneficiaries and contribution links. If the admins would like to organize this is in a more systematic way, that's great too. This is a list which I am sure many of us will have additions to suggest, and which many of us may want to turn to when we are looking for a way to make occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and festivals more meaningful and memorable.

1. Isabel Allende Foundation

2. Doctors without Borders (Nonbelievers Giving Aid partners them)

3. Asha for education

4. .....

Some others that I have come across, doing the good work... couple of them less well known and therefore probably tighter on funds.
4) India Unheard
5) Save the Elephants
6) Operation Smile

7) Goonj (clothing donations and volunteering opportunity in India)
8) Rang De (social entrepreneurship in India)

This is Peter Singer's initiative

http://www.thelifeyoucansave.com/

A bunch of people doing the good work.
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.hero...index.html
Included in the Asian contingent are Anuradha Koirala and Narayanan Krishnan

While we fervidly 'Like' posts and 'vote up' links to promote pet causes, perhaps it is not too much to ask for a few clicks of a different sort each day.

Hungersite (and sister sites. See tabs in the homepage)

Bhookh (an Indian hungersite)

http://www.oxfamindia.org/

http://www.aksharafoundation.org/index.html

Quality education for children from underprivileged backgrounds:

Pratham

Parikrma Humanity Foundation
Related TED talk: Shukla Bose: Teaching one child at a time

See Your Impact (Visit this page for their partnership with Jagriti in India)

Restless Development

(17-01-2011 09:23 PM)arvindiyer Wrote:  Quality education for children from underprivileged backgrounds:

Pratham

Parikrma Humanity Foundation
Related TED talk: Shukla Bose: Teaching one child at a time

I'm really impressed by the work being done by Pratham. I watched the videos they have up, and they are quite powerful. Thanks for the link, Arvind.

The TED talk by Shukla Bose was also an eye-opener on many levels.

Deepalaya (education and vocational training for marginalized children)

Impact India Foundation (Preventive action against avoidable disabilities)

Responsible Charity : Planned parenthood, education and self-employment (founded by a disillusioned volunteer who later quit a renowned faith-based charity)