I'm still checking out several charities as potential recipients for our group's efforts. I just came across this informal one posted by someone at TripAdvisor, who uses their excess baggage allowance to bring down used clothing to give away.
"we brought our 4 suitcases and also brought 4 large hockey bags jam packed with used clothing for the needy and it cost us nothing!! Abdul from
greenhope99@yahoo.com met us at the airport to pick up our humble donations and see that it got to those who need it the most. He even delivered our empty bags back to our hotel along with some handmade gifts made by some of the recipients of our donation. Abdul works with orphans, addicts, the homeless and also does disaster work. He is a tireless worker for the disadvantaged. We also stopped at our local supermarket before we left and picked up some basic school supplies. You would not believe what $100 will buy if you keep it simple!"
And this reply to whether he was on the up and up, which naturally was going through my mind as well:
"I have met abdul,shaken his hand,and looked into his eyes--he is the real deal. No, I did not follow him around to check on his activities. His organization is called greenhope99 and he works with orphans, addicts, homeless people and also does disaster relief. It is a grassroots organization, so your donation goes to those who needs it the most-unlike large charities-where 30% of the donations get eaten up with overhead. They run 2 homes near san jose to help out those poor souls who cannot look after themselves. He is a well respected san jose businessman ... Abdul says if you come to costa rica, he will personally drive you to the orphan's home and the other homes he helps in the san jose area, and you can take a tour."
Is it really legit? I can't say. I'm usually a big cynic. I could be wrong but I'll say this, if this guy really does have other business interests, doing this would seem to be a rather time-consuming way just to scam a few dollars. I'd like to see someone I'm more familiar with such as a regular poster on this board, perhaps one of the expats, take this guy up on his offer, meet him, take the tour, even use their contacts to check out his references. I'd do it myself and will if no one else has the next time I'm down, I just don't know how soon that will be. I'd also like to feel the guy out on how he'd feel about receiving donations from a group of over 4000 mongers, albeit semi-respectable culturally sensitive ones, many of whom travel to CR several times per year. This guy might be religiously affiliated and/or regard our tourism sector unfavorably, but I doubt he's tied in with the established anti-sex tourist campaigns of larger charities and if he's on the up and up his efforts would be subject to far less overhead than those organizations.
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I'm glad your still researching this. If this guys for real, sounds like a pretty good cause. I was just going through all my clothes thinking its time to get rid of some of this....
