I decided with the new year I would revisit the idea of tithing. I have tithed in the past---not to a specific church but rather to charitable and nonprofit organizations whose work I admired and believed in supporting. When the recession hit us hard, however, my good intentions fell by the wayside because my paychecks were needed to fund another charity, that is, my own family.Even though my husband still holds the title of "job seeker", our finances have stabilized somewhat, and I feel in every way ready to recommit a chunk of my income to help out those in greater need. One of the most important lessons I learned during our trip to Pakistan four years ago was that riches are all relative and that one person's pocket change can be a fortune to someone else. Which is why I think I am drawn to supporting programs like Samasource.
Samasource trains and provides basic computer work to women and refugees in developing countries like Ghana, Pakistan, and Kenya. The work is provided by start-up and small businesses in the United States who are bound by tight budgets and could not otherwise afford to pay higher Western wages. The end result is a win-win---previously low- and unskilled workers are given jobs that pay two to three times their local salaries and small business owners elsewhere are given the opportunity to grow their company. A complete profile is provided on Samasource's web site.
Our world has been too stingy of late, and the time has come for all of us to de-Scrooge ourselves as we ease into this new year, into the future. Perhaps we all can dig into our pockets and learn to live without those few extra dollars or pounds or euros in 2010.
