Help someones dream come true

I went to Uganda with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), a naive and shallow youth, fresh from living at home and looking for adventure.

Oh boy did I find it! The people that do VSO are special, no doubt about it and although there is that link, that common ground of having 'signed up', a more diverse group of individuals you couldn't imagine.

But my fellow volunteers were only a part of the experience. Living and working in Uganda with some amazing local people in extremely challenging conditions and terrain turned upside down the way that I looked at the world.

Building Maternity Health Units scattered all over a large district directly helped thousands of people and helped me understand a great deal about myself.

But this lens is not about me! You can read more about exactly what I learned in this post on my blog.



This lens is to make you think about how you could help someone in dire circumstances turn around their life and make a better future for themselves. A real difference to a real person, a person just like Sia here or Issa; not money into a bucket or aid package that ends up goodness knows where.

Real sponsorship and real returns. Follow the ActionAid links now to find out the name of the person you can help.

Here are just a few thought provoking reads about international aid and how you can help.

Actionaid:
Webster's Timeline History, 1972
2007

Sweet Teeth and Loose Bowels:
The Adventures of an International Aid Worker

Aid:
Understanding International Development Cooperation

The Bottom Billion:
Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It

The Life You Can Save:
Acting Now to End World Poverty

You will receive regular updates from the child you help sponsor, find out how they are doing and what is happening in their life now that they have a sponsor, a friend even. A friend who wants to help.