I can understand your concerns about making Ch*ldren our main focus due to the stereotype associating mongering in general with Ch*ld exploitation. OTOH, doing something as a group to HELP Ch*ldren could also be viewed as one small thing we can do to counter that idea. The question is in how to best to go about it.
Some have advocated more direct involvement with the agencies we give to as a way to help insure the funds are well spent, but that also might place us in positions where we also come into direct contact with the Ch*ldren we want to help and possible suspicions as to what we are really trying to do. One only has to look at what happened to Bruce Harris and Casa Alianza to see what I'm talking about. Its not that I'd necessary expect any of the people involved in these efforts thus far to ever do anything inappropriate but all it would take would be the suspicion or appearance that something improper was going on. For that reason it might be better to stay at greater arms length if we are going to act in this area.
Another approach for greater control over how our funds are dispensed that has been suggested is to work with smaller organizations for whom our relatively small group donation might still be significant. The problem with that approach is that such small organizations are often less well managed and thus probably require more rather than less oversight.
IMHO, the best approach if we are going to continue pursuing this type of charitable area is actually to work with LARGER better known, reputable and well managed charities AND to just give them our funds en mass trusting that such reputable charities will see to it that they are properly spent. Personally, Ch*ld welfare in LDC's has always been a major focus of mine. I currently sponsor Ch*ldren in 4 different countries through
http://www.SaveTheChildren.org. I realize the money I give actually goes to the community projects in the villages where those K*ds live, but I also know through sites like
http://www.CharityWatch.org that it gets an A rating and that my money will be well spent. I do NOT actually write to any of the Ch*ldren. For me, as it would be for all of you, this is not about developing relationships with any of the Ch*ldren involved. Simply knowing that I have done something to help even without any direct involvement is more than enough for me.For us as a group, giving money for Ch*ld welfare WITHOUT having any direct involvement with the Ch*ldren would say volumes more about our intent than anything else (although, I suppose, cynics might contend it was some sort of guilt money).
Unfortunately, STC does not have any operations in CR and I know that making this a CR effort is even more important than making it anything to do with Ch*ldren. So, it remains for us to find some other major well-established and reputable charity organization with operations in CR. Looking at the lists I provided above I didn't really see any child-welfare agency with operations in CR that appeared significant enough to show up on someplace like CharityWatch let alond get a passing grade. The most notable such organization is CovenantHouse and, personally, I have a major problem seeing any of my money go to any organization that includes proselytizing Christian ideals in their agenda.
Failing to find any major worthy and reliable Ch*ld welfare agency in CR OR a decision by the group that we should alter our goals to some other worthy area for the reasons laid out by brother Paco, I think we should expand our potential areas. Even though Ch*ld welfare has long been a priority of mine personally, I only went along with that as a group goal after Santa started the ball rolling with the orphanage.
If you look way way back, I was the original advocate of a group charity effort (though never acted upon). Embarassingly enough, Casa Alianza was actually one early candidate that I proposed until I found out more about it and its religious anti-mongering agenda. That was followed by consideration of another CR-based charity,
Fundacion Rahab, that worked with prostitutes who wanted to get out of the "life" by teaching them other job skills. These were primarily the addicted street hookers and low level tico brothel types that gringo monger types don't normally mix with. Even if some of the women are those working at the level that we operate at, isn't helping those who don't really want to do what they're doing a better thing than unknowingly and uncaringly continue to utilize those women? This might still be a worthy candidate for us if the rest of you agree. However, it does have its drawbacks.
1) Is doing something to improve the lot of abused sex workers in CR any better an area for us to get involved with as mongers than working with disadvantaged Ch*ldren or does it suffer from many of the exact same problems?
2) Is there are a religious value system being involved that regards ANY sexual commercial exchange to be exploitive rather than just those that involve unwilling subjects? IMHO, most of the HDR/BM girls and even most of the MP girls that we associate with, may not like what they're doing (who does?) but do it willingly because they can make far more money than they can make any other way. Again, IMHO, it is the "skanky" ones, like those on Calle 6, who are working for amounts no better than regular ticas make a regular jobs, who really need to be helped.
3) Is that organization part of the movement that focuses on sex tourism as being the primary problem OR does it more rightly recognize that the problem of sexual exploitation in CR really begins at home where tica minors are often sexually abused from a young age, knocked up and thereby put it a position where they naturally turn to supporting themselves any way they can and where the ones who are most exploited are the ones that work with tico johns at tico rates thus barely getting by rather than the relatively high paid sex workers who work with foreign tourists?
Unfortunately, even if #1 were not a problem, I fear that Rahab and most other charities in these areas would be ruled out based on #2 and #3. For those reasons, as much as #1, maybe we really should change our goals to something more neutral and uncontroversial - like environmentalism, drug rehab, vocational training or whatever.
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I'm tickled pink to see all this brainstorming and believe this can be an ongoing thing and not a one time here's the money deal.
